


A Secret Revealed

by Aki (Akiko_Natsuko)



Series: Secrets [2]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Abuse, Acceptance, Arguing, Best Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Fear of Discovery, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Loss of Trust, Past Abuse, Promises, Protectiveness, Secrets, Trust, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 13:26:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16641011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Aki
Summary: Nagisa's home life has never been what it should be, but as long as Karma is there he'll manage to survive, a childhood promise tying them together. However, sometimes promises need to be broken regardless of the cost. (Sequel to 'A Secret Shared'





	1. Chapter 1

     Karma was lounging on the ground, his head resting against Nagisa’s knee as he idly listened to the group’s conversation which ranged from loose ideas for future assassination attempts, what they’d been doing in class that morning and the rapidly approaching exams. None of which were particularly holding his attention at the moment, and he shifted his attention to the boy he was leaning against, golden eyes narrowing as he caught the tense edge to Nagisa’s smile and his gaze shifted to the remnants of a bruise on the small teen’s arm. They’d hoped that the incident a month before was going to be a one-off, but it seemed as though Nagisa’s mother was slipping back into her earlier behaviour, and he knew that Nagisa was struggling to cope even though most of the time he managed to appear normal.

     He still hadn’t managed to bring up the topic of telling their teachers, falling back into the old habit of helping Nagisa take care of any injuries, offering him a shoulder to hide against when he couldn’t hold himself together, but this time he knew that it wasn’t enough. Sighing he shifted his gaze back to Nagisa’s face, startled to find blue eyes watching him with concern, and he offered him a warm smile to try and reassure him. Nagisa continued to stare at him suspiciously for a moment, and he knew that if they were alone that he would’ve been demanding answers. Which probably meant he would be facing an interrogation later on when they were alone, and he struggled not to sigh, well aware that he couldn’t keep secrets from Nagisa at the best of times. Finally, Nagisa shifted his attention back to the others, and Karma let out a low sigh of relief before turning his attention back to the sky, letting his thoughts wander as he was lulled by the conversation around them. _I have to talk to him about this._

“SHUT UP!” Nagisa snapped suddenly a few minutes later, startling Karma out of his thoughts and he shot up in alarm, narrowly avoiding being sent flying as the smaller teen shot to his feet a few seconds later. For a moment Nagisa seemed to hesitate, staring at the others with blazing blue eyes, hands clenched at his sides and Karma was just about to reach for him when Nagisa suddenly turned and bolted away from the group before he could do or say anything. _Nagisa…_

“What the…?” Isogai asked, staring after Nagisa’s retreating form with a shock expression that was reflected in the others’ faces as well, and Karma rubbed a hand over his face. _So much for appearing normal, but what could have set him off?_ Usually, no matter how bad the situation got, Nagisa internalised everything. In fact, Karma could only think of one other occasion when the smaller teen had lashed out in anger, and that had been because he had pushed too quickly for information.

“I’ve never heard Nagisa sound like that,” Kayano whispered with a worried expression, and Karma could tell that she was debating going after their friend, something that he wanted to head off. No matter how close she was to Nagisa, there was no way he would let her in at the moment, and Karma refused to let her risk their friendship.

“What did you say to him?” Karma demanded as he rose to his feet, eyes narrowed as he glanced around the group demanding answers, cursing himself for not paying attention when he’d known that Nagisa was already on edge.

“Nothing!” Maehara protested when the golden eyes landed on him, swallowing nervously as he realised that Karma was deadly serious - a state that the entire class had long since learnt meant that he was at his most dangerous. Frantically trying to disperse some of the blame, he gestured around the group before explaining nervously. “We were just talking about what Bitch-Sensei was telling us this morning, about how to use disguises effectively and we were reminding him of that time on the island when he pretended to be one of the girls. We were praising him!” Karma’s expression didn’t soften, but it didn’t reflect the worried thoughts flickering around inside. At the time Nagisa had handled that situation surprisingly well, but with his mother now playing her old games, old memories were being stirred up, and it was no wonder he’d lashed out.

“Seriously that’s all we were talking about,” Isogai took over, seemingly concerned by the fact that Karma didn’t seem overly happy with Maehera’s response. “What the hell set him off?”

“He’s just a bit stressed at the moment,” Karma replied with a sigh, hoping to discourage them from looking too closely at Nagisa’s strange behaviour, well aware that the smaller teen wouldn’t react well to that at the moment. With difficulty he softened his expression, offering them a terse smile as he added quietly.  “I’ll go after him.” For once he wasn’t certain that even his presence would be welcomed, but there was no way he was going to leave Nagisa alone with his thoughts. He had a tendency to overthink everything at the best of times, and this wasn’t the best of times.

“Karma-kun?” Kayano asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” He replied, offering her a more genuine smile as he saw the honest concern in her eyes, well aware that she had also noted Nagisa’s odd behaviour over the past month although she had done an admirable job of hiding it. “We’ll see you in class.” _I hope,_ he added privately, not sure that he would be able to calm Nagisa down in time, but unwilling to voice that concern aloud. With a final wave, he turned and took off after the smaller boy, relieved that he at least had a good idea of where Nagisa would have gone to hide, and just hoping that Nagisa would be willing to let him in.

_Nagisa…_

**

   Nagisa was breathing hard, his eyes stinging fiercely, by the time he reached his destination. Falling to his knees, he crawled into the small, naturally formed den they had discovered months ago and curling up amongst the bushes. _What have I done?_ He hadn’t meant to snap at the others, but everything had just bubbled to the surface before he could hold it back, and he wrapped his arms around himself as everyone’s shocked expressions flashed through his mind. There was no way they were just going to let that go…even if they weren’t assassins in training, there was no way they could fail to notice how out of character he had been acting. Kayano had already been watching him more over the past couple of weeks, and it had taken all his strength to divert her attention…there was no way he would be able to hold up against the rest of them as well. _What am I going to do?_

    There was no way he could let them know what had set him off…what was going on at home…a full body shudder went through him at the mere thought of them finding out about his mother, and he tightened his arms, burying his head against his knees as he felt tears beginning to trickle down his cheeks. _I can’t let them find out._ At least Karma had promised to keep his secrets, although he hadn’t missed the fact that the redhead seemed more and more reluctant to keep his word these days. And he knew that there was no way that the others would be willing to make a similar promise. Kayano would probably drag him straight to the teachers the moment that she found out what was going on, and Isogai and the others probably wouldn’t be much better. _Why didn’t I laugh it off? I know they didn’t mean it, and I was fine back on the island…_

    Only that wasn’t true. He had managed to hide it, but he had been trembling from the moment that they had suggested he disguise himself as a girl so that he could sneak in with Kayano and the others, and it had nothing to do with embarrassment. The memories of what his mother had used to do had been there just below the surface, and more than once he’d thought that he was going to give them all away. The fear becoming nearly overwhelming him, and to this day he had no idea how he had managed to hold himself together long enough to get back to the others. Even Karma’s gentle teasing had done little to help calm him down, and he had sworn there and then, that he was never going to do that again. Only to be confronted by his classmates’ enthusiasm about the idea of using disguises against Koro-sensei after their morning class, which had stirred up old and new fears that he hadn’t been ready for. _Why? Why did we have to have a class on that? Anything else I could have coped with, but not that, not now…_

    Sniffling he lifted his head, trying in vain to wipe away his tears, but it soon became clear that it was a lost cause as fresh ones soon left fresh tracks on his face. After a moment he abandoned the attempt, well aware that only one person would think to look for him here, and while he almost hoped that Karma wouldn’t come looking for him, at least the redhead wouldn’t judge him for crying, at least not over this. Not that it made it any easier, and with a choked sob he buried his head once more, his previous thoughts washing over him once more.

_What am I going to do?_

**

    Karma let out a soft sigh of relief as he reached their den, noting the damaged leaves that indicated something or rather someone had been through there recently, unsure of what he would have done if the other teen had decided to hide somewhere else for once. Taking a deep breath, he dropped down and crawled through the opening, hesitating for a moment when he caught sight of the small figure curled up in the middle of the bushes. Nagisa looked smaller than ever, and more fragile than he had ever seen him and the redhead was terrified that if he said the wrong thing now, he might be the one that caused the smaller boy to shatter. However, he shook off that fear as he heard Nagisa sniffling slightly, the sound tugging at his heart and giving him the strength to move forward until he was properly inside the den, and he kept his voice deliberately soft as he called to the other teen.

“Nagisa?”

“Go away,” Nagisa muttered, arms tightening defensively around himself, and he refused to look up even as he heard the redhead moving closer. _Why? Why are you here?_ He had known that there was no way Karma would leave him be, and for the first time he found himself wondering why the redhead kept bothering…nothing had really changed from that day when they were children, and he had finally shared his secret, so why was Karma still by his side? Why hadn’t he just given up? Surely he realised by now that this was who he was and that this was who he was always going to be?

“Like that’s going to happen,” Karma scolded as he scooted in next to Nagisa, the thickness in the other teen’s voice telling him everything that he needed to know, and he didn’t hesitate as he reached out and gently wrapped his arm around the smaller boy. Nagisa stiffened at the touch, his whirling thoughts skidding to a halt for a moment, and he couldn’t bring himself to even make an attempt to pull away. Instead, he silently allowed the taller teen to gently pull him across, tucking him in against his side, and despite himself, he felt some tension easing out of him as he snuggled against the redhead’s warmth, only to tense at the next question. “Come on, why are you trying to hide from me?”

“I…” _Because I’m terrified that you’re going to walk away when you realise just how weak I am._ He finished silently, unable to voice the words aloud, terrified that would be the final push needed to make Karma realise the fact that this was who he was…and that this was all he was capable of. “I…”

    Karma frowned as he felt how badly the smaller teen was trembling, wondering just what was going through Nagisa’s head as he had never had difficulty talking to him before. Realising that he wasn’t going to get any sense out of Nagisa until he had let some of his emotions out, he gently tugged the smaller teen closer, reaching up and beginning to card his fingers through messy blue hair. At once he felt Nagisa shudder, clearly trying to fight the urge to cry properly and golden eyes narrowed in concern. _Why are you hiding from me?_ Nagisa had never really been one for sharing his emotions, but after he’d finally told Karma exactly what was going on at home, he had never once tried to hide how he was really feeling from the redhead…until today. _Please…don’t pull away from me,_ he pleaded silently, feeling a lump forming in his throat at the thought of that happening. Nagisa had always been there, and he didn’t even want to imagine what it might be like without the smaller teen at his side.

“Let it out,” he ordered softly once he was sure that he had control over his voice, and this time he was rewarded by a flash of blue as Nagisa finally peered up at him. Tears were swimming silently in his eyes, and Karma bit his lip at the sight, anger and a need to protect surging in his chest, and it took more effort than he cared to admit suppressing those feelings, well aware that Nagisa wasn’t ready to deal with that side of him just yet. “Let it out,” he repeated just as softly, and there was a brief moment of silence as they stared at one another, and he was ready the moment he saw a shift in the other’s eyes. Reaching out and pulling Nagisa into a full body hug as the dam broke, the smaller teen letting out a quiet wail as he finally let himself go, burying his face against Karma’s shoulder as he began to sob softly.

**

   It took nearly half an hour for Nagisa to cry himself out, the odd hiccupping sob still escaping as he slumped against Karma in exhaustion, and the redhead stayed quiet as he just held onto the smaller teen. They had well and truly missed the start of afternoon classes, but he didn’t care, although he knew that Nagisa would blame himself for that as well once he realised. At the moment Karma couldn’t bring himself to care about anything but the trembling form in his arms. He desperately wanted to broach the subject of what had happened that morning, and what was happening to Nagisa at home, but he forced himself to wait, terrified that he could still push the smaller teen away. _Nagisa…_ Gently he tightened his hold on Nagisa, mindful of the healing bruises on his arm, but wanting to reassure him that he was still there and that he had no intention of going anywhere.

    They remained like that for another ten minutes before Nagisa finally straightened in his lap, reaching up to rub at his eyes, sniffling slightly as he did so and studiously avoiding Karma’s gaze. The redhead scowled at the avoidance but bit back his words, instead letting the smaller teen wipe away as much evidence of his tears as he could. However, it was a struggle to stay quiet when Nagisa finally slipped out of his lap, and he’d just opened his mouth to protest when Nagisa snuggled into his side once more, one hand reaching up so that he could twist his fingers into Karma’s jacket.

“Thank you…” It was barely a whisper, and yet it caused warmth to pool in Karma’s chest, reassuring him that he had at least done something right and there was a faint smile on his face as he gently wrapped his arm around the smaller teen once more.

 “Nagisa you can’t go on like this,” Karma murmured eventually once the silence had stretched on far too long for comfort, peering down at the smaller teen who was currently curled into his side, and his expression darkened as he caught the blankness in Nagisa’s eyes. It had been a long time since he’d seen Nagisa with that expression, and he felt old, familiar anger beginning to burn in his chest as his thoughts turned to the cause of that expression…how anyone could hurt Nagisa was beyond him, but especially how his mother could bear to lay a finger in him, especially when the smaller teen wanted nothing more than to be a normal, happy family. _I hate her. I want her to experience the pain she keeps inflicting on him,_ they were familiar thoughts, ones that had only grown in strength over the years although he had never been able to bring himself to say them aloud around Nagisa. Despite everything Nagisa still loved her, and he refused to say something that could well push the smaller teen away from him.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” Karma denied instantly, somewhat relieved when that was enough to get Nagisa to finally look up at him, although he knew it was more because he was deviating from their normal method of dealing with this situation than agreement. However, even in the face of Nagisa’s shocked expression, Karma was unrepentant about he’d said, golden eyes fierce as he stared at the smaller teen. It was difficult not to focus on the bruise that was rapidly darkening on the side of Nagisa’s face, and his voice shook slightly as he continued, determined to get Nagisa to realise just how serious the situation was. “She’s getting worse, not better, and somehow I don’t think she’s going to stop this time. Not unless we stop her.”

“Karma…”

“Things are different now,” Karma pointed out softly, hesitating for a moment as he knew that his next words weren’t going to be well received, but in the end he continued, unable to hold them back anymore. Aware that if he didn’t speak out now and something worse happened, then Nagisa would be the one to suffer, and he would never be able to forgive himself.  “As much as I hate to admit it, we’ve got some decent teachers at the moment that actually care about us in their own way. They wouldn’t try and sweep this under the carpet like our old teacher did, even Bitch-sensei would do a better job than that woman did!”

“No!”

“Nagisa!” Karma protested the swift, flat denial even though that had been the reaction that he had been expecting from the start. After all that failed attempt at sharing his secret and getting help had nearly broken Nagisa back then, and he couldn’t really blame him for being afraid to let that happen again, especially when he was already teetering closer to the edge than either of them really wanted to admit just yet. “Please…”

“We’re not telling the teachers,” Nagisa spat, the terrible blankness gone from his eyes and replaced with a hint of blue fire as he glared up at the taller teen. However, Karma couldn’t draw any relief from the change as he knew that there would be no changing the younger’s mind when he got like that and that Nagisa really meant every word that he was saying. Normally this was the part where he would back down, but he couldn’t do that today, and slowly he pulled away from Nagisa’s side. Struggling not to abort the motion when he caught the hurt that flickered across the smaller teen’s face, but he knew that he had to take a stand now otherwise nothing was going to change.

“Why are you protecting her?” He asked quietly once they were a short distance apart, unable to completely keep the anger out of his voice. _Why? Why do you still care about her?_ He wasn’t even sure that he really wanted to understand…but he had to ask, hoping that maybe getting Nagisa to actually think about his answer would be enough to make the smaller teen realise that staying quiet and protecting her wasn’t the right thing to do anymore. _Please, see sense. I can’t let this go on anymore…_

“I…” Nagisa stammered, startled by the fact that Karma wasn’t letting the issue go like he normally would, and not sure what to make of the sudden attack. _Why are you pushing this? Why now?_ There was nothing that out of the ordinary about the situation, it had been a while since it was this bad, but it had happened before, and they’d got through - he’d got through it, because of Karma. A cold feeling settled over him at the thought of trying to deal with this without the redhead, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to back down. “I-I’m not protecting her.”

“Then why are so hell-bent on keeping it secret?” Karma demanded, eyes flashing as he met Nagisa’s gaze, making sure that the smaller teen was paying attention, determined to break through the stubborn wall that Nagisa was trying to erect between them. _I’m sorry Nagisa, but I’m not backing down this time. I should have pushed this issue a long time ago, I’m sorry that I didn’t, but I’m not about to make that mistake again._ Hesitating for a moment, he finally reached out and grasped Nagisa’s hand, struggling not to react to the small flinch that his touch was met with, his eyes softening slightly as he brushed his fingers lightly over the bruises on Nagisa’s arms. “Surely you realise that the only person you’re hurting by staying quiet is yourself?”

“I know,” Nagisa whispered after a moment, silently drawing his arm out of Karma’s grasp and glancing down at the ground, unable to bear the golden gaze boring into him. And he did - he had long ago realised that his mother was never really going to stop. There might be periods of peace and relative normality, but they were always going to be short-lived, even if he didn’t fully understand why, and more than once he had imagined what life could be like if he shared his secret, and moved past the hold, she had on him. That was why he had allowed Karma to convince him to reach out in middle-school, only to be devastated when nothing had happened…the teacher hadn’t believed them, or just hadn’t cared, and it had been then that he had realised that nothing was going to change. “I know…”

“So why?” Karma asked, stunned that Nagisa had actually agreed with what he was saying, although it didn’t seem as though the smaller teen was any closer to agreeing with him. _Still, at least it’s a step forward…_

“Because…” _Because at least this way I don’t get my hopes up. This way, I just have to experience pain that I can cope with because those old hopes and dreams terrify me more than anything else…_

“Nagisa?”

    Somehow the gentle question was too much on top of anything else, and Nagisa’s expression darkened as he shot to his feet, uncaring of the bushes as he rose to his full height and glared down at Karma with a venomous expression that the redhead had never seen before.

“Stop it…You promised that you would keep my secret!” Nagisa was barely aware of the fact that he was shouting, fear and anger fighting for control as he stared at Karma, realising that the redhead had no intention of abandoning his attempts to convince him to tell someone what was going on. _You promised…_ It felt like something was shattering in his chest, and he could feel fresh tears beginning to trickle down his cheeks, and yet the angry words continued to pour forth. “You promised me, and I believed you. I bloody believed you!”

“Nagisa…”

“You’re just like the rest! You’re just like that teacher!” Nagisa snarled, cutting off Karma before the redhead’s words could derail him, hands curling into fists as he towered over him. “I should never have told you…”

“Nagisa stop it!” Karma pleaded desperately, slowly rising to his feet, not quite trusting the smaller boy not to lash out at him in his current state. He couldn’t remember ever seeing Nagisa like this, and the bloodlust lurking just beneath the terror scared him more than he cared to admit. _Shit, I completely screwed this up._ He had known from the start that this conversation wasn’t going to go well, but he had never expected Nagisa to react in this way…and he had to admit that the sharp, agonised words were more painful than the realisation that the other teen was probably only one step away from actually lashing out physically. “Please…”

“NO!” Nagisa shrieked, unable or unwilling to listen to anything else right now, even as the hurt in the golden eyes watching his every move cut him to the core. _See this is who I am…this is what I am…At least you’re going to realise that now…_ Realising that even now the redhead was reaching out for him, he flinched backwards, uncaring of the fact that he was slowly destroying the bushes that protected their den. Unable to focus on anything but the desperate need to get away that was now consuming him _._ “Just forget it! Forget everything you know! Forget about me!” The anguished look that met his words was the final blow, and with a choked sob he whirled around and forced his way through the bushes, ignoring Karma’s frantic voice as he finally broke free and took off without a backwards glance, tears streaming down his cheeks.

_I’m sorry Karma…_

 


	2. Chapter 2

    It hadn’t taken the rest of the class long to work out that something was wrong. After all, except for their normal lessons, it had become virtually unheard of to see Nagisa and Karma more than a few feet apart, but ever since the former’s outburst at break the other day they hadn’t spoken so much as a word to one another. However, if that had been the only change, they might have written it off as a fight between the two…even though that was virtually unheard of, especially since the redhead had come back to school and joined their class. No, what was really catching their attention and concern, was the fact that Karma hadn’t missed a single class since then, although it was debatable how much work he was getting done as he seemed to spend every class watching Nagisa.

    Apart from that, his behaviour had been impeccable, except on the odd occasion when someone - and it didn’t seem to matter whether it was a student or one of their teachers began to try and find out what was going on with Nagisa, at once he would intervene, but not directly. Instead, he would either initiate a prank of some kind, or a lacklustre assassination attack if Koro-Sensei was the interrogator. Which more often than not had proved to be the case, as it was clear that their teachers were growing increasingly concerned by the change in Nagisa’s behaviour. So far his efforts had worked, as no matter how spur of the moment his actions were, they were always designed to attract attention. Not that Nagisa seemed to appreciate the efforts, either completely ignoring what was going on or occasionally shooting a dark glare towards the red-head, not that Karma seemed even remotely fazed by either response.

    The only one who refused to play along with his seemingly careless mask was Kayano, as she was probably closest to the pair, and knew that there was far more going on than either of them had admitted. She’d tried to ask Nagisa what had happened and why he had shouted at them the other day, but all she’d got was a quiet apology and a gentle refusal to answer the rest of her questions, and since then he had taken to avoiding her nearly as much as he was avoiding Karma. The redhead had been nearly as difficult to pin down, slipping away as soon as school ended as he refused to stay without Nagisa. At first, she had hoped that would give them a chance to talk outside of class, but the day before she had seen them walking a fair distance apart and it had been clear that Nagisa was still doing everything in his power to avoid the other teen.

“Karma what’s going on?” Kayano asked, pouncing on the redhead as soon as the bell rang, even as she watched Nagisa slipping out of the classroom before the others were even partway through gathering their bags, turning worried eyes towards the redhead just in time to catch the pained expression that flickered across his face before he was able to mask it. “I’ve never seen you and Nagisa like this.” She could probably count on one hand the number of proper fights the pair had, had before this, and they had always been resolved in a matter of hours, the two boys gravitating back towards one another no matter how bad the fight had been. In fact, before this had happened, she had come to the conclusion that it was impossible for them to argue properly. _So what changed?_

“It’s nothing,” Karma replied once the class had emptied apart from them, his hands faltering in the process of packing his bag as he caught her staring at him, realising that she wasn’t just going to let it go at that. Sighing he abandoned his efforts and glanced towards the door, wondering if it would have made a difference if he’d chased after the smaller teen, pushing that thought aside he refocused on Kayano, before adding softly. “I said something that I should have said a long time ago, but Nagisa wasn’t ready to hear it.” _He might never be ready to hear it…_ He had spent the last couple of days going over and over their conversation, but for the life of him, he couldn’t think of a way that he could have approached the topic differently or avoided the reaction that he’d received -not that it made the outcome of that conversation any easier to bear.

“What…?”

“I can’t say,” Karma cut across her, well aware that he would never be able to mend things with Nagisa if he answered that question. Seeing the way her gaze had drifted to the door where Nagisa had just disappeared and the gleam that had appeared in her eyes, he hastily added. “And please don’t ask him about it. I don’t want him to fall out with you too.” While he knew that there was no way Nagisa was going to tell the rest of their classmates what was happening, he didn’t want to give the smaller teen more cause to pull away from everyone. He was barely talking to anyone at the moment, but it would be worse if he completely shut himself off.

“Karma…”

“Please,” He pleaded as he met her gaze. “We’ll sort things out eventually.” _I hope…_ For the first time, he found himself fearing that maybe they wouldn’t be able to resolve this, but he carefully masked that uncertainty, knowing that there was no way she would back down if she spotted it. Kayano might be fairly quiet most of the time, but he had learnt the hard way that she was fiercely protective of Nagisa and he had no desire to bring her wrath down on his head.

   Kayano stared at him silently for several minutes as she contemplated her options. She hadn’t missed the lack of confidence in his words, and part of her wanted to continue to try and get the answers she needed, but she had a feeling that all that was going to do was make the situation worse. Finally, she sighed and nodded, noting the way some of the tension leached out of his body.

“Just don’t leave it too long, you know how he tends to overthink things,” She added as she grabbed her bag, shooting him one last worried look before heading for the door, not noticing the anguished expression on Karma’s face as he sank back down into his chair.

_I know, why do you think I’m so worried?_

**

    Nagisa was torn between relief and numb regret when Karma didn’t chase after him, unsure of which situation he preferred the most, although he had to admit that he was surprised that the redhead hadn’t tried to approach him since their argument. He knew that his words had caused quite a bit of damage, but Karma wasn’t usually one to back away from something like that…yet at the same time it was a relief, because for once Nagisa had no idea what to say to the taller teen. It wasn’t as though he could turn around and say that he agreed with what Karma had been saying, as he was still fiercely determined to keep his secret.

_Even if it means being alone? Even if it means losing Karma?_

“It won’t come to that,” he muttered, not caring in the slightest how odd he must look talking to himself, his hands trembling as he clenched them into fists. _How can you be so sure? Isn’t that why he hasn’t tried to approach you?_ Frantically he tried to push the thoughts away, a task that was becoming increasingly difficult after days of silence, even if the silence was his own fault. “But, he’s been protecting me…” _Not from her though._ Shaking his head in an attempt to clear the thoughts, he broke into a run, unsure of whether he was trying to escape his own thoughts or Karma or everything. Feeling fresh weight pressing in on him when he realised that all that awaited him was yet another evening of trying to avoid setting his mother off again.

_Karma, what am I supposed to do?_

**

    Karma was unsurprised to find no trace of Nagisa when he finally managed to force himself out of the classroom, ruthlessly squashing the flicker of hurt that rose, all the same, unable to remember the last time he had walked home alone before all this had happened. Even when he skipped lessons, he would always reappear just in time to walk home with Nagisa. Partly to make sure no one got the chance to try and pick on the smaller teen, although he would never admit that in Nagisa’s hearing. But also because it was one of the few times nowadays when they got to be normal school kids, a short time when they could try and forget about their assassination task and what awaited at home. Although if he was honest with himself, that wasn’t what he missed the most, no, what he missed the most was just a chance to spend time with his best friend…

   Sighing he buried his hands into his pockets and set up down the slope, fighting the urge to go to Nagisa’s and confront the smaller teen. There was no way that would go down well with his friend, and he didn’t trust himself not to do or say something to Nagisa’s mother if he came face to face with her. It had always been difficult for him to hide his dislike - no hatred for the woman, but he had done his best for Nagisa’s sake, as he knew that she would quite happily ban him from visiting if he gave her the slightest reason to. But after the last few days of silence from Nagisa, and her recent behaviour towards his friend he knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back and that was only going to make this situation worse.

_Nagisa, how am I supposed to help you?_

****

That evening:

    Nagisa glowered down at his homework, wishing that the questions would just answer themselves for once as it was proving impossible for him to get his mind to focus on them for more than a few seconds at a time. He had already been pulled up a few times this week for his work, and he knew that Koro-Sensei at least had an inkling that was more going on than either he or Karma had let on. Although the fact that he didn’t seem to know exactly what it was, was encouraging as it meant that Karma hadn’t yet gone through with his threat of telling the teachers. _Although how long is he going to wait?_ He couldn’t suppress a shiver at that thought, curling in on himself as he imagined how everyone would react if they learned the truth about his home life.

    Deep down, a small part of him knew that Karma had been correct, at least in some of the things he had been saying, especially when it came to their current teachers. His hand inched down to his desk drawer where he kept one of their special, Anti-Sensei knives, although he stopped before actually pulling it out. He had never forgotten the way that Karasuma had looked at him the day that he had asked him to fight Takaoka-sensei, surely a man that could look at him like that, wouldn’t brush aside what was happening at home. _It doesn’t matter, I can’t tell them._ Even if he could bring himself to abandon whatever affection or need to protect that he felt towards his mother, other things were holding him back - practical issues like what would happen to him if they were separated?

   He had friends here if he could only stop pushing them away, and there was a nasty pang in his chest as he glanced at one of the few photos decorating his desk, showing him and Karma on their first day of junior high. _Karma…_ Dragging his eyes away from the photo before he could get consumed in thoughts of the state of their friendship, he stared down at his homework, his gaze lingering on the small smiley that had been drawn next to the question. _Only Koro-sensei._ It was another reason why he didn’t want to risk anything that might lead to him being sent away, he liked, no adored his current class despite their poor status and the stress of what they had to do to save the world. _I don’t want to lose that…_

    But it was more than that…ever since the events on the island, his assassination skills had continued to grow and be acknowledged. Would he lose all that if they found out that he was incapable of defending himself from his mother? More than once he had contemplated fighting back,  using the skills that he had been taught, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it - after all, they were skills meant to kill someone, and he didn’t want to hurt her. No matter what she did, he could never bring himself to hate her that much. _Could he?_ Before the argument with Karma, he would have answered ‘ _no’_ immediately, but he had found himself constantly questioning everything since then even though he didn’t want to. ‘ _Why are you protecting her?_ ’ Karma’s question just wouldn’t leave him alone, and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it out so that he could get back to his work, and he was dismayed to find his vision blurred by tears when he opened his eyes once more.

_Why am I protecting her?_

**

    Deciding to take a break from his homework in the hopes that it would clear his mind, Nagisa had slipped away to grab a bath, surprised that his mother seemed content to let him be this evening, but not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. However, he didn’t dare take too long in the bath as he knew that she would notice that he wasn’t doing his homework, and she was still fixated on the idea that he could bring his grades up enough to get back into the main school. Still refusing to understand that, that wasn’t going to happen and not just because it wasn’t what he wanted. He just prayed that she didn’t hear about how he’d been doing this week, and he quietly promised to try and pay better attention from now on.

“Nagisa!” He had just left the bathroom and was hurrying back to his room when his mother called to him, and he immediately froze, catching the underlying steel to her voice and hesitating as he turned towards the stairs. “Come downstairs!” _Something’s wrong…_ experience and the instincts he had been honing in school were screaming at him in warning, but what could he do? He knew from past arguments that if he didn’t go down when summoned, then she would come to him, and her temper was always worse in those situations, the lingering pain from the bruises on his arms telling him that he wanted to avoid that as much as possible.

“One moment,” He called in defeat, knowing that he wasn’t going to get out of this, but refusing to go down in nothing but a towel. Hearing something that sounded remotely like agreement he dashed back towards his room, determined not to agitate her further by taking longer than necessary.

**

“Mother,” Nagisa greeted warily as he stepped into the kitchen a few minutes later, wishing that he didn’t have to call her that. It had been a long time since she had felt like a mother, but he had learned the hard way not to call her something different. Any hopes that he might have had about this being a peaceful evening died swiftly as she turned towards him with a dark expression on her face. However, before he could even try and begin to work out what he had done to set her off this time, not that there usually was a reason, his attention was drawn to the notebook in her hand, and he felt himself paling. It was his notebook from school where he kept track of Koro-sensei’s weaknesses and any ideas for assassinations that they hadn’t tried yet. _How did she get it?_ Usually, he was so careful with it, keeping it either in his pocket or hidden in his desk and he blinked as he realised that he could remember putting it away when got home. _She went through my things…_

“What is this nonsense?” She demanded, and he couldn’t stop himself from flinching at her tone, even as relief washed over him. _She thinks it a joke…_

“I…”

“Is this why your grades slipped?” Her eyes were boring into him as she began to stalk towards him, and Nagisa backed up slightly, unable to find his voice to reply, although what could he say? He couldn’t tell her that the notebook was real, and there wasn’t really anything he could say to defend himself without telling her the truth. “Were you wasting your time on silly games like this? IS THIS WHY I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE SHAME OF HAVING A CHILD IN THAT CLASS?!” Her voice rose to a shout at the end, and his eyes widened as she lifted the notebook and began to tear the pages out, his eyes beginning to sting as he watched his precious notes falling to the ground and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out towards the falling sheets.

“Don’t…” _Please…_ He couldn’t bring himself to plead aloud, knowing that the words would only encourage her and offer her yet another way to hurt him, but that wasn’t enough to stop the litany of pleas running through his head.

“I told you that you’re going to get out of that class,” She spat at him, tossing the ruined notebook aside and paying no mind the to the choked sob that escaped him as he tried to move towards it. Instead, intercepting him and gripping him tightly by the arms, her voice cold when he nervously forced himself to meet her gaze. “I told you what I expected of you, and yet you’re still doing nonsense like this?”

“I told you that I’m not going back,” Nagisa retorted softly, the same heat that had engulfed him the last time that they had this argument surging to the front, and now he found himself unable to stop the words even when he could see her temper worsening by the moment. “I like it in E-class, and I have no intention of getting back into the main school!” _As if it’s even my choice,_ he thought, wincing as he felt her fingers digging more tightly into his arm, although he made no move to pull himself free even as she leaned in towards him.

“Take that back.”  

“I won’t take it back,” Nagisa replied, his voice barely audible, but there was a fire in his eyes as he stared up at his mother, refusing to back down even when her eyes narrowed even further at his response. _I belong in E class,_ even the past week hadn’t been enough to change that belief. _I found somewhere where I belong, I’m sorry, but I can’t let you take that from me._ He knew at once that he had said too much, the painful grip on his arms disappearing as she loomed over him, any traces of the mother he tried to believe in disappearing behind a mask of rage and he instinctively threw his hands up defensively, already knowing that it wasn’t going to be enough.

**

   Nagisa sniffled as he slipped into his room, closing the door as quietly as possible behind him before sinking to the ground with his back to it, burying his face against his knees as he began to sob in earnest. He tried desperately to muffle the sound, not wanting to bring his mother’s ire down on his head again this evening. _Why? WHY? WHY?_ His arms ached from where she had grabbed him, and he didn’t need to be psychic to know that he was going to have one hell of a bruise on his face tomorrow. And this time he doubted that he would be able to pass it off as training, especially as he hadn’t said a single word to Karma since their argument, so there was no one to back up his lie.

_How am I going to hide this?_

    There was a pang in his chest as his thoughts turned to the redhead, well aware that he had hurt Karma with his words and silence. And yet despite that, he hadn’t been blind to the fact that Karma had been there constantly since then, carefully diverting attention away from and stopping the others from asking questions that he didn’t have any answers for. _What did I do to deserve his help?_ Hiccupping he lifted his head slowly, reaching up with a shaking hand to ghost over his face, remembering how Karma had done the same the last time he had turned up with a black eye, and the redhead’s voice echoed in his mind once more. _‘Why are you protecting her?’_

“I don’t know…” Nagisa whispered, for the first time unable to summon up the slightest hint of affection for his mother or a trace of the hope that one day she would be the mother he desperately wanted, and he had to fight tooth and nail to hold back the wail that he could feel brewing in his chest. “I don’t know…I don’t know…”

_I can’t do this on my own anymore_

****

    Karma sighed as he restlessly flipped onto his back, golden eyes distant as he stared up at the ceiling of his room, his fingers clenched tightly around his phone. Normally on a school night like this he would have either been hanging out with Nagisa or texting him every few minutes, but his phone hadn’t gone off once this week, and he had to admit that it hurt far more than he thought it would. In a way he could understand the smaller teen avoiding him at school, there was a lot they needed to sort out, and it couldn’t be done within the hearing range of the rest of the class. He’d thought, or rather hoped that Nagisa would reach out to him at some point after school, but all he’d had all week was silence. _Damn it Nagisa…how do I fix this?_

   The worst thing was that he knew that at the moment the only thing Nagisa wanted to hear was that he wasn’t going to go to the teachers, that he wasn’t going to push the issue of telling someone what was really going on in Nagisa’s home life, and Karma couldn’t give him that. As much as he hated the silence, he wasn’t going to back down this time. He just wanted at least one more chance to try and convince Nagisa that it could work this time, before going ahead and telling them. Deep down he had already decided that he was going to go to them soon, regardless of what happened between them, but he had to at least try one more time.

    Shifting again he rolled onto his side, hesitating for a moment before flicking his phone open and searching for Nagisa’s number. If Nagisa wasn’t going to reach out to him, then he was going to have to reach out, as there was no way he could let the current situation continue, both for the sake of their friendship, but also because of the growing pit of dread in his stomach. If something happened now, there was no guarantee that Nagisa would be confident to reach out to him for help, no matter how bad it was, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth to imagine the other teen trying to deal with it alone. _Nagisa…_ Gathering his determination he was about to press the call button when his phone began to blare, startling him so badly that he dropped it onto the covers with a curse, although it took him barely a moment to recognise the tone he used for Nagisa and at once he scrambled to answer it.

“Nagisa?!” He blurted, not caring that he sounded more breathless and alarmed that he needed to, hope welling at the thought that after all his doubts Nagisa had been the one to reach out to him. However, whatever relief he had been feeling turned to ice at the soft sob he heard from the other end of the phone, and he was immediately up and off the bed, pacing anxiously as he tried to draw an answer out of the smaller teen. “Nagisa? What’s wrong?”

“Karma…help me…”


	3. Chapter 3

_“Karma…help me…”_

    It felt like his heart was being constricted as he heard the broken whisper. It had been years since he’d heard that particular tone from Nagisa, and he had hoped never to hear it ago. Taking a deep breath, he stopped his pacing, well aware that he needs to choose his words with care at this stage, a task made more difficult by the dark rage that had swept in, in the wake of his panic. He didn’t need to ask who had done this, who had made Nagisa sound this broken, and he wanted to curse himself - both of them for waiting too long to seek help, but he forced the words back, knowing that he couldn’t afford to push the smaller teen away again.

“Nagisa…” He murmured softly, soothingly, amazed that he was actually managing to sound reasonably calm and he waited patiently until he heard a soft noise of acknowledgement from the other teen. “What happened?”

“I…She…” Nagisa trailed off, a shuddering sob coming through the phone and Karma’s grip tightened to the point where he could hear the device creaking. _You’re not supposed to sound like that._ It was one of the few things that truly scared him, the sight and sound of a crying Nagisa meant that he had failed his best friend and his anger dulled slightly as guilt washed over him. _I was meant to protect you from this. I was meant to protect you._ Realising that Nagisa had dissolved into soft sobs, the muffled sound telling him that Nagisa was probably trying to hide the fact that he was crying from ‘her’ and Karma’s lips drew back in a snarl.

“Alright,” He soothed quietly, realising that there was no way he was going to get answers from Nagisa when he was in this state. “Are you still at home?” More than once Nagisa had taken off after an altercation with his mother, and while he was normally willing to tell the red-head where he was, or more often he would go to their old hiding place, but after the last few days Karma wasn’t confident that his friend would stick to the usual patterns.

“I’m at h-home,” Nagisa’s voice broke on the last word, and the red-head cursed himself for referring to it as home, well aware that it had been a long time since Nagisa had actually been able to call it that with any degree of fondness. Taking a small breath, he hastily continued, hoping that the change of topic would draw Nagisa’s attention away from that slip-up.

“Okay, are you listening to me?” Karma asked, letting some sternness leak into his voice, waiting until he got a whispered acknowledgement before continuing. “I want you to grab your school things and pack some clothes if you can.” It wasn’t so much that Nagisa needed the things, after all, there were more than enough of his clothes stashed at Karma’s house, and it wouldn’t be the first time that he had borrowed Karma’s either, although they were much too big. No, he knew that Nagisa needed something, anything, to keep him occupied and to stop him becoming mired down by his thoughts for the time being. Well aware that if that happened then this breakthrough might well disappear, and the smaller teen would try to shut him out again.

“But…”

“I’m coming to get you,” Karma declared cutting across the weak protest in a tone that warned he wasn’t about to be deterred from his plan, and he heard the sharp intake of breath at the other end of the line, and he could imagine the conflicted expression on Nagisa’s face. The other teen was always torn between the desire to accept his help, to have at least a small reprieve from what was happening with his mother and guilt for relying too much on Karma, no matter how often the red-head had reassured him it wasn’t a problem. _This time it will be more than a brief reprieve,_ Karma added silently, deciding there and then, regardless of what Nagisa said or wanted he was going to go to their teachers on Monday. Part of him wanted to do it in the morning, but he had a feeling that Nagisa was going to be in no state to go to school, and there was no way Karma was going to leave him on his own. “I’ll be leaving in a couple of minutes, and I can be at yours in twenty minutes. Okay?”

“I…”

“This isn’t up for debate,” Karma interrupted him once more. “You’re not staying in that house tonight!” _Or ever again if I have my way._ He wasn’t sure what he was going to do if Koro-Sensei and the others couldn’t or wouldn’t help, but there was a darkness at the back of his thoughts that he shied away from, for the time being, praying that it wouldn’t come to that. As much as he hated the woman, he didn’t particularly wish her harm, unless it became the only way to protect Nagisa.

   There was silence for several minutes, and he was just beginning to worry that he had managed to push Nagisa away again when the other teen finally replied.

“’Kay…” Relieved that the other teen was willing to accept his help, Karma hurriedly grabbed his coat and shoved his feet into his shoes, glad that his parents were away on a business trip this week as it meant that he could leave without sneaking out. Not that they would really mind, as they tended to turn a blind eye to his wilder behaviour as long as he kept his grades up, and besides which they completely adored his best friend. Still, he would have a much better chance of getting answers out of Nagisa if it was just the two of them.

“I’m leaving now, so I’m going to hang up,” Karma said softly, pausing as he opened his bedroom door, his voice softening as he caught the frightened note that slipped through in response to his words. “If anything else happens, or you get too scared just call me back.” This bit was routine, it wasn’t the first time he’d had to go collect the smaller teen from either his house or wherever he’d decided to hole up. And while Nagisa was usually able to hold himself together until he got there, there had been a couple of times where his fears had got the better of him, and he’d needed Karma to speak to him until he got there. “All right?”

“Y-yeah…Karma I’m…” _Sorry,_ the word hovered unspoken and Karma bit back a sigh, well aware that, that was another set of issues that they would need to deal with. But for now, it was the last thing he wanted to worry about…he had never been mad with Nagisa in the first place, and hearing the attempted apology in such a broken voice made his eyes sting suspiciously. _Idiot, you’ve done nothing wrong._ However, he knew that Nagisa wouldn’t be able to believe that in his current state of mind and so he hesitated for a moment before whispering softly.

“I know. So am I, but let’s not worry about that for now,” He just hoped that his decision to go ahead with seeking help wasn’t going to completely destroy this reconciliation, his hand tightened on the phone for a moment before he forced himself to relax, before adding softly. “I’ll see you in twenty minutes, wait for me.” 

“B-bye,” Nagisa’s voice sounded a little less shaky this time, and Karma drew strength from that as he reluctantly hung up, slipping the phone into his pocket before hurrying out of his room. Despite his confidence when talking to Nagisa, he was worried that his friend’s mother might do something else even in that short amount of time. If she was in the kind of mood to make Nagisa sound that broken, there was no telling just how far she might be willing to go at the moment, and golden eyes darkened at that thought. _If she lays another hand on him…_ He delayed his departure long enough to turn on the outer light and grab his keys, and then he was out of the door, knowing that he couldn’t afford to take any longer than he’d said.

_Nagisa, wait for me…_

**

    Nagisa found that his hands were slightly steadier as he slowly lowered his phone, the flow of tears down his cheeks slowing to a trickle as he took a deep breath. A small part of him was surprised that Karma had actually answered, let alone been willing to go this far, after all, he knew that he had been hurting the other teen with his behaviour the last couple of days. However, the larger part knew that it would have taken far more than that to make the red-head turn his back on him and that knowledge sent warmth through him, dulling some of the hurt that came from his mother’s actions. _Karma…_

Blinking back fresh tears he reached up to scrub at his face, grimacing at the feel of tears tracks and he could just imagine how much of a mess he was in, but he didn’t dare look at the mirror for fear of seeing the damage his mo - that she had caused. _Why? Why can my best friend care for me more than my mother?_ It was something he had asked himself since that day when they were children, and he had finally broken and told Karma what was happening, years on and he was still no closer to answering it, and he felt his heart shatter a little more at that thought. _Why? Why can’t she be like normal mothers?_ It was made worse by the fact that he knew that once upon a time she had been, but the memories of those times were dull and distant now, leaving nothing but a vague sense of loss. _Why did you change?_

   Sniffling he glanced down at his phone, realising that he was wasting precious minutes, knowing without a doubt that Karma would be there in exactly twenty minutes. Taking another deep breath to try and steady himself he forced himself back to his feet, staggering slightly before straightening and glancing around. Deep down he knew that Karma had only told him to pack some stuff to keep him occupied, and his lips quirked up weakly, really the red-head knew him far too well. Moving as quietly as he could, not wanting to give his mother any reasons to be suspicious he moved across to his desk and retrieved his school bag, eyes welling up again as he spotted the empty notebook he had tucked inside ready to replace his current one as it was becoming too full, _all that work destroyed…_

    It took him a moment to get himself moving again, and there was a fresh heaviness to his movements this time and more than once he found himself hesitating, wondering just what the hell he was doing. Escaping for the night, or even the weekend if they could get away with it - wasn’t going to change anything in the long run, and he found his hand inching towards the phone. _I should tell him not to bother, to just go home and to forget about this…_ His fingers had just brushed the device when it lit up with a text, and he let out a startled squeak, before grabbing it and opening the message.

DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! NOW HURRY UP AND PACK!

   _Karma._ His lips twitched again, and the heaviness lifted ever so slightly. He didn’t bother replying, knowing that the other teen wouldn’t be expecting a response and instead he turned his attention back to packing. He didn’t worry too much about clothes apart from grabbing his hoodie, both for warmth and to hide the red marks on his arms. He knew that he would need to show them to Karma at some point but hoping to postpone the angry response they were sure to trigger until they were in the safety of his friend’s house. Instead, he focused on making sure he had everything he needed for school, groaning as he realised that he had completely forgotten about his homework, and he hesitated as he picked it up. _This is why I will never make it back to the main school,_ he thought bitterly, the paper crumpling slightly in his clenched fingers. However, after a moment he forced himself to relax and slipped into the bag, wondering if Karma could help him as so far he had never been late with his homework for their current teachers and he didn’t want that to change. _Least of all for her…_

   He tensed as he heard movement on the stairs, hastily lowering the bag to the floor and praying that she wasn’t going to come in. She had caught him in the middle of escaping once before, and that had been in one of her better moods…he dreaded to think what she might do in her current mood. Her footsteps halted outside his door, and he sucked in a breath, squeezing his eyes shut as fear flooded him. _Don’t come in…Don’t come in…_ For once it seemed as though his prayers had been answered, as there was a muffled curse from outside before he heard her storming away towards her room, and he sank back against the desk with a relieved sigh as he cautiously opened his eyes once more. _How did it come to this? Hiding from my own mother? Praying for her to go away?_

    His phone buzzed again, and he nearly leapt in the air, startled eyes glancing at the screen as he realised that it had been twenty minutes, and he fumbled with it as he opened the new message.

I’M OUTSIDE, CAN YOU COME OUT ON YOUR OWN?

   He hesitated for a moment, fear gripping him and for a moment he contemplated saying no, but he knew that wouldn’t deter the red-head. Karma would probably burst right into his house, and probably say and do things he wouldn’t regret, but which would make Nagisa’s life hell at a later date. _Like it isn’t now._ Shaking away the bitter thought he glanced towards his bedroom window before giving a determined nod, this might only be a brief escape, but he was determined to seize what he could get, and there was no way he was going to risk an altercation between his mother and best friend. YES, he texted quickly in reply before dropping his phone into his bag and slinging the bag across his back.

   Quietly opening the window, he peered out into the night, wishing that their back garden was better lit and he was about to back away when there was a familiar whisper from the tree that stretched quite close to his window.

“Don’t chicken out on me now.” How he managed to stop himself from crying out in alarm, he would never know, but his heart was pounding in his chest as it took him a moment to adjust to the darkness, and finally spotting Karma crouched on one of the larger branches. _I’m safe,_ the thought slipped in, even though he wasn’t completely free yet, just the sight of the red-head was enough to ease his fear, and his voice wobbled slightly as he replied.

“Karma…”

“Come on let’s get out of here,” Karma’s voice was soft, no hint of teasing to be seen as he inched close enough to be able to hold out a hand to Nagisa. The smaller teen felt like crying as he saw the gesture, and the softness in the golden eyes watching his every move, his breath hitching as he slowly eased himself out of the window, relieved for all their training as the drop below no longer intimidated him. Although it certainly helped that he was able to reach out, Karma’s warm hand grasping his immediately, and he allowed the red-head to pull him carefully across on to the branch before wrapping an arm around his shoulders to steady him. “Thank heavens you’re still small. Otherwise, I might have dropped you,” Karma teased softly, although it was more for reassurance than fun and Nagisa nodded mutely, briefly leaning against the taller teen before allowing the other teen to carefully guide him down through the branches and safely to the ground.

   His legs threatened to buckle when they hit the grass, and he would have fallen if Karma hadn’t been there to catch him and he ducked his head in embarrassment. _What am I doing?_ There was no reason for his weakness, and yet suddenly the thought of walking, of doing anything seemed like too much. Everything felt like too much, and a hiccupping sob slipped out before he could stop it, and to his horror, he could feel tears trickling down his cheeks. _Why?_ He couldn’t understand why it was hitting him now. He was safer now than he had been before, and Karma was right beside him, arm warm around his shoulders. He knew all that, but there was no stopping his meltdown now, and he shivered out another cry before suddenly he was drawn into a warm hug, as Karma shushed him gently while sending a worried look towards the house.

“We need to go,” he murmured, and Nagisa let out a soft noise of protest. There was no way he could move, and right now he didn’t want to leave the warm sanctuary of Karma’s arms, pressing his face against the other’s chest although he did his best to stifle the sobs.

    Karma must’ve realised that he wasn’t going to move under his own steam because a moment later the hug disappeared. He was about to protest when he felt Karma turning around, and he blinked in surprise when he realised the taller teen had crouched down in front of him and was shooting him an expectant look over his shoulder.

“Come on, I’ll carry you.” Nagisa hesitated for a moment, feeling utterly pathetic for needing this, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to reject or even protest the offer. There was nothing but encouragement and concern in the golden eyes watching him, and it was that more than anything that had him shuffling forward, allowing Karma to pull him onto his back and looping his arms loosely around the redhead's neck. Karma gently grasped his legs before carefully rising to his feet, with only the faintest grunt of effort. “Okay?” Nagisa nodded in agreement before pressing his head against Karma’s shoulder and hiding his face.

“Thank you…”

     There was a gentle hum of acknowledgement, and then they were moving forwards. Cautiously at first until they were safely out of Nagisa’s garden, but then picking up speed, although Karma’s gait was gentle to avoid too much jostling and the smaller teen closed his eyes and tried to just enjoy the sensation. He didn’t want to face his more serious thoughts at the moment, and it was much simpler to just focus on the motion and the warmth of Karma’s body, and it didn’t take long for the motion and Karma’s presence to lull him into an uneasy sleep.

**

    Karma had been unsurprised when Nagisa had fallen asleep mere moments after leaving the house, and he had simply tightened his hold around the smaller teen’s legs to make sure that he wasn’t at risk of dropping him. In a way he was relieved for the reprieve, because the sight of Nagisa’s strained, tear-stained face even in the half-light of the back garden had been enough to reignite his previous fury. He knew that he had to guard his temper around Nagisa when he was like this…he just hoped that the walk back to his would be enough time to calm himself down again. Although he knew that it would probably be a wasted effort once he found out exactly what had happened, it hadn’t escaped his notice that Nagisa’s cheek had been red and looked to be bruising already, and somehow he doubted that was the only damage this time. _Damn that woman…_

    Taking a deep breath, he instead turned his focus to the soft sound of Nagisa’s breathing, and the warm breaths brushing the back of his neck. _Nagisa, I’m sorry. I should have stopped this from happening._ It had been bad enough when he had just had Nagisa’s voice to go off, but seeing the physical evidence of his friend’s pain was a thousand times worse, and it steeled his resolve to talk to the teachers. He just hoped that the fact that Nagisa had reached out to him despite their argument meant that the smaller teen was slowly starting to come around to his thinking. Even if that was just hopeful thinking, he knew that he couldn’t back down this time and his arms tightened around Nagisa as he pulled the smaller teen closer.

_I won’t give her another chance to hurt you…_

****

    Nagisa stirred as Karma quietly let them into his house, yawning widely and nuzzling against the warmth that he could feel against his front, only to jolt as there was a soft chuckle at his action and he reared back in alarm, only Karma’s quick reflexes stopping them from both falling over backwards. It took his sleep-dazed mind a moment to remember what had happened and why he was at Karma’s house, and currently still pressed against the other’s back, and his eyes stung as the reality of the situation pressed in on him once more. Made sharper if it was possible by the brief respite, and he buried his face against Karma’s back as he tried to force it away again. _I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to remember. Why couldn’t it be a dream?_

     Karma didn’t say anything, instead as soon as he had regained his balance and checked that the door was closed behind them, set off in the direction of his bedroom. Nagisa’s reactions telling him that it would be a while before he could get the answers he wanted, and he knew that there was a storm brewing and he wanted to make sure that they were somewhere where Nagisa felt safe before that happened. He could feel how the other teen’s heart rate had increased, and the way slender fingers were digging sharply into his shoulders now, and he sped up. _Hold on Nagisa…_

    It was a relief to reach his room, and he toed off his shoes before moving across to his bed, carefully lowering Nagisa onto the edge and waiting patiently until the smaller teen finally released him. Ignoring the faint ache in his shoulders and backs from carrying the other teen he turned and crouched down in front of Nagisa, biting his lip as fresh anger flooded him as he met teary blue eyes. He could never remember the other teen looking that vulnerable, and it terrified Karma because at that moment it looked like the slightest touch would shatter his friend completely. However, he cautiously reached up to ghost over Nagisa’s injured face - the cheek was red and swollen, and the bruising was spreading faster than he had thought. _This wasn’t just a hand,_ he thought furiously, fighting to keep his expression as neutral as possible as he knew Nagisa might misinterpret any anger.

“Where else did she hurt you?” _Besides emotionally,_ he added grimly as Nagisa hiccupped out a sob, more certain than ever that there was more to this than what he could see right now. It took a moment, but finally Nagisa moved, reaching up with shaky hands to try and remove his hoodie, but he was trembling too much by this point, and in the end, Karma moved to help him, shushing the whispered apologies that met the action. “Shh, it’s alright I’ve got you…” His reassurances trailed off as he finally removed the offending piece of clothing, eyes narrowing as he took in the red marks littering the other’s arms. _Finger-marks,_ his brain supplied, fingers that had clutched so tightly that the marks would probably be black and blue soon, and this time he couldn’t stop the low growl that slipped free. _How dare she?!_

“K-Karma,” the broken whisper drew his attention back to Nagisa’s face, and he deflated at the anguished expression that he was met with, although the shame he could see under the pain made him want to growl again. _This isn’t your fault! You have nothing to be ashamed of!_ He wanted desperately to say the words, but he knew that Nagisa wouldn’t be able to believe them right now, and instead, he rose to his feet, moving forward to embrace the smaller teen, although he made sure to do it slow enough to give Nagisa chance to protest if he wanted to.

   Instead, Nagisa practically fell into his arms, and it took him a moment to get them both settled on the bed, arms wrapped tightly around the smaller teen who curled against him, trying to shrink away from the rest of the world. Nagisa was shuddering but quiet, and Karma sighed as he realised that the other teen was trying to hold back the sobs that they both knew were coming. Gently he began to rub Nagisa’s back, tracing nonsensical patterns as he felt the other’s trembling increasing before a soft, barely audible sob slipped free just before Nagisa buried his face against him once more.

“Let it out,” he murmured softly, and Nagisa tensed for a moment before reaching up to grip tightly at the front of Karma’s shirt as the damns broke completely, a broken wail rising from the blue-haired teen before he broke into heaving sobs. Golden eyes widened for a moment as Karma realised that this was no minor breach of Nagisa’s walls, but a complete rupturing and all he could do was hold Nagisa as tightly as possible and try and ride out the storm.

_Nagisa, I won’t let this happen again. I promise…_

 


	4. Chapter 4

   Karma had always hated seeing Nagisa cry, it was one of the reasons he had got into trouble so much throughout their time at school. With even the slightest hint of tears in his best friend’s eyes had always been enough to send him on a rampage, and no amount of apologies or pleading could stop him until he was satisfied that those that had caused those tears were punished. Nagisa had been forever scolding him for it, even as the smaller boy would meticulously clean and bandage whatever scrapes the red-head had gained from his intervention, muttering a quiet thank you as they sat silently afterwards. The need to protect him from bullies had decreased as they grew older, not because the other kids got kinder, but because Nagisa grew stronger. However, no matter how strong he became, his mother was always able to tear down that strength, and she was the one person that Nagisa had never let him go after.

   _That is going to change,_ he thought grimly as he rubbed a comforting hand up and down his best friend’s back, each sob and shuddering breath feeding his anger, and for a brief moment, he half-hoped that their teachers wouldn’t take action so that he could deal with it himself. That thought evaporated as he glanced down at the blue-haired teen buried against his chest because he knew that they needed their teachers for this. Otherwise, goodness knows what would happen to Nagisa. As much as he hated to admit it, there was only so much that he, a junior high student could do, no matter what kind of crazy training they had been receiving and there was no way he was going to let his anger make things worse for Nagisa.

“K-Karma…” Nagisa’s voice was hoarse from crying, and Karma struggled not to flinch at the sound, although he couldn’t stop his eyes from narrowing as he stared at the smaller teen who was still hiding against his chest. _You’re not supposed to sound like that._ His mind was full of Nagisa happily chatting with the rest of their class, teasing Koro-Sensei, smiling brightly no matter what wrong with their assassinations. That was the Nagisa that he wanted to see.

_That was the Nagisa that woman keeps trying to destroy…_

“Nagisa?”

“I-I’m sorry,” the barely audible apology was nearly enough to snap the weak tether holding his temper in place, and his arms tightened around Nagisa, drawing a startled squeak from the smaller teen who finally looked up at him. Only the sight of red-rimmed eyes and tear-streaked cheeks stopped Karma from snapping, although it was close, as the emotion swimming in the blue eyes now fixated on his face told him that Nagisa had genuinely meant that apology. _Idiot._ It had always been the same though, whenever something happened that forced Nagisa to seek him out for help the smaller teen had always apologised, and nothing Karma had said had ever been able to convince him that it wasn’t necessary. However, those apologies seemed to pale in comparison to this one, and when he replied, he wasn’t quite as successful in keeping the anger out of his voice as he’d hoped to be.

“What the hell are you apologising for?” It was a soft growl, and his expression was far softer than his tone, but it was still enough to draw a flinch out of Nagisa, and he sighed, loosening his hold on the smaller ever so slightly to reassure him that he wasn’t a threat. “I’ve told you before that none of this is your fault.”

“But…”

“But?” Karma prompted, not sure what to make of the odd expression that had appeared on Nagisa’s face, and getting a strange feeling that this wasn’t one of his usual protests rearing their head. Nagisa hesitated for a moment, sniffling before shaking his head and pressing himself back against Karma’s chest and the red-head sighed. Apparently, it had been too soon to start asking for answers. To be honest, he had been surprised that the smaller teen had initiated a conversation so soon, but he hadn’t been about to overlook a chance to find out what had happened. However, he didn’t push the issue, knowing that was the last thing Nagisa needed at the moment, and instead he just held on as Nagisa began to cry again, more softly this time, the sounds muffled against his chest and yet in a way this worse than the noisy sobs from a few moments before. This was the Nagisa that wanted to hide his pain from everyone, including him. The one who had tried to hide away in the bathrooms at school in the hopes that Karma wouldn’t realise he was upset. _Nagisa…._

     He was unsurprised when Nagisa’s weight gradually grew heavier against him, the smaller teen’s breathing slowly easing out and he sighed softly. He was torn between relief that even after the tension between them for the past few days Nagisa still felt safe enough to sleep in his arms and worry that he was going to have to wait even longer for answers. However, hell would freeze over before he would wake Nagisa just to demand answers, and he lay there quietly for another few minutes to make sure the other teen was deeply asleep before reluctantly releasing him and carefully slipping out from under him. Nagisa mumbled something under his breath, reaching out with a searching hand as he sensed the warmth he had been cuddled against disappearing and for a moment Karma reached out and entwined his fingers with the searching hand.

  _I’m still here._

    Forcing himself to pull away he rooted through his pocket for his phone, blinking as he realised just how late it had got and biting his lip as he turned back to study Nagisa for a moment. There was no way they were going to make it to school first thing, and he definitely didn’t want to go before he knew exactly what had happened and had, had another chance at convincing Nagisa to reach out to their teachers. Worrying his lip, he hesitated for a moment before shooting off a text to Kayano, hoping that it wouldn’t wake her as he really couldn’t deal with a barrage of questions right now, asking her to let Koro-Sensei know they would be late. Hopefully, the fact that Karma had actually bothered to tell him that much rather than just skipping would buy them time, he didn’t want to think what would happen if the octopus chose to try and track them down. Message sent, he abandoned the phone on his desk, glancing at Nagisa once more before slipping off to the bathroom.

     Exhaustion was pressing in on him now as he readied himself for bed and he rubbed a weary hand over his face. It had been a long week, what with the tensions between the two of them and he had a feeling that things weren’t going to get easier for a while. Yawning he finished brushing his teeth before grabbing his flannel and wetting it, heading quietly back towards his bedroom, although he could probably have stomped along like a herd of elephants and Nagisa wouldn’t have stirred. Sure enough, the smaller teen was still curled up on the bed, his expression strained and unhappy even in sleep, and golden eyes narrowed at the sight. _Nagisa._ Carefully he moved across and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out and gently beginning to wipe away the evidence of Nagisa’s tears, pausing whenever Nagisa stirred slightly, although he doubted the smaller teen would be awake before morning. _Unless a nightmare hits,_ he amended grimly, having been witness to Nagisa’s nightmares more times than he cared to admit, and knowing that the events of the last few days were more than enough to fuel even worse ones.

     Satisfied that he had got rid of the worst of the tears he dropped the flannel on the floor, rising to his feet so that he could ease the quilt out from under Nagisa, lips quirking up weakly when Nagisa protested sleepily trying to grab at the cover even though it wasn’t even covering him. Some of the strain in his expression had been replaced with a pout as he settled down once more, and Karma shook his head fondly at the familiar action…Nagisa had always hogged the covers, it had often left to fierce battles when they had sleepovers when they were younger, ones that he nearly always lost because when it came down to it he couldn’t really deny Nagisa anything. Feeling a little bit lighter than before he crawled onto the bed, carefully curling himself around Nagisa and pulling the covers back over them both, unsurprised when Nagisa immediately grabbed the quilt with one hand while instinctively pressing closer to Karma’s warmth.

“Good night,” Karma whispered softly, wrapping his arms around his best friend in the hopes that his presence would be enough to drive away the nightmares, although he doubted they were going to be that lucky. His eyes drifted shut nearly a moment later, the stress of the last few days and more importantly that day catching up with him and he fell asleep with his head nestled against Nagisa’s.

_I’ll keep you safe…_

****

_Nagisa recognised the helipad straight away and instinctively knew that he was dreaming. He had revisited this scene, this fight, a dozen times since the incident on the island, continually replaying what had happened and what could have gone wrong. Part of him knew it was because it was the first time he had felt complete and utter bloodlust, sure he had used hints of it before, but it had never coursed through him so freely as it did when he stared at Takaoka, fully believing that the man had just doomed his classmates, his friends to death. Without hesitation he grasped the knife the man had just thrown at him, gripping it tightly and standing straight. He knew that he could do this because he had done it before._

_“You’re a disgrace…” The deviation from the usual script made him blink, and his eyes widened with horror as he realised that he was no longer facing his former teacher. Instead, his mother was stood in front of him, gripping Takaoka’s knife without the slightest hint of discomfort, her eyes cold as she glared at him and he felt ice creeping across his skin._

_This wasn’t how it was supposed to be…_

_“W-Why are you h-here?” No matter how he tried he couldn’t keep the waver out of his voice, and he frowned. He was always wary around her, but there was something more to the fear that he was feeling this time, memories stirring just below the surface but currently out of reach. “M-mother?”_

_“Don’t call me that,” she hissed at him and he reared back, staring at her with wide, frightened eyes. He had heard her angry before, but he had never seen such undiluted hatred in her eyes, and he backed away on trembling eyes, barely suppressing a whimper when she followed. “You lost that right when you fell low enough to be put in this class. I tolerated your failure until now, but dreaming of aliens? Wasting your time with people from this class? I should have known that you were incapable of making something of yourself.”_

_“But…I…”_

_“SHUT UP!” She lunged at him, and he could see the knife descending towards him in slow motion. In the back of his mind, he knew that he could dodge, that he could block it and retaliate, and yet he couldn’t get his body to move as he wanted it to. Instead, his own weapon fell from suddenly nerveless fingers, and he was barely aware of it clattering to the ground beside him before her blade struck open, and all he knew was pain and blood. Wide-eyed he stared up at her as he sank to his knees, pressing a hand against his chest even though he knew it wasn’t going to be enough._

_“W-why?” He managed to force out, twisting his head around so that he could look towards the rest of his class, easily finding stunned golden eyes._

_Karma…help me…._

_However, the red-head merely shook his head, a sad, disappointed expression on his face and as Nagisa felt himself fading away, Karma’s voice echoed in his mind._

_“You should have asked for help…”_

    Karma had jolted awake the moment that Nagisa had begun to stir restlessly in his arms, groaning softly as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes before glancing at the clock. It was nearly five in the morning, and if he was honest, he was surprised that Nagisa had managed to sleep peacefully for that long. He was just about to try and ease him awake, hating the soft whimpers escaping from his friend when the smaller teen abruptly went stiff in his arms.

“Nagisa?”

“W-why?” There was so much pain in the whispered question that Karma felt his eyes stinging, even as he hastily sat up and pulled Nagisa against him. _What the hell are you dreaming about?_ Nagisa was trembling violently, one hand reaching up to clutch at his shoulder, but a quick check showed that he was still trapped in whatever nightmare was tormenting him, his face twisted with pain and grief. _Nagisa…_ He had just begun to gently tap the others cheek, having learnt from painful experience that it wasn’t a good idea to shake an assassin-in-training awake when blue eyes flew open making him rear back in surprise. For a moment it was clear that Nagisa wasn’t seeing what was in front of him, and there was an uneasy feeling in Karma’s chest as he met the blank, staring gaze. _Nagisa, what the hell did you see?_

     He never got chance to ask aloud as with a shuddering breath, awareness seeped back into the blue eyes and with it came fresh tears. Nagisa met his gaze for the briefest moment before falling against him, arms creeping around the taller boy as shuddering sobs wracked his body, his fingers digging into Karma’s back hard enough to leave bruises, as though he was frightened the red-head was going to disappear on him. Sensing that words weren’t needed at the moment, and fighting the urge to wince as Nagisa’s fingers dug even deeper into his skin, Karma clung to the smaller teen with equal strength even as concern flooded him. _What happened?_ He knew that there was no way Nagisa was going to be calm when he woke, there was too much hanging over them for that to happen, but he hadn’t expected this. In a way, it felt worse than when Nagisa had fallen apart earlier that night, and that scared him. _Nagisa…_

    The display on his alarm clock said that it was nearly six when he finally felt Nagisa take a deep breath. It had been almost half an hour since the smaller teen had run out of tears, but he had seemed unwilling to pull away from Karma, and the red-head hadn’t had the heart to try and force him and so they had just sat there in silence. However, feeling Nagisa beginning to stir in his arms gave Karma the courage to speak, although there was a hesitancy to his words that he would never show to anyone else.

“Nagisa?”

“She…” Nagisa trailed off, shaking as he pressed his head against Karma’s chest, listening to the steady beating of the red-head hearts and using it to calm himself enough to continue, unable to bring himself to look at Karma…terrified of seeing the same disappointed expression from his nightmare. “She killed me…I was back on the helipad, but it wasn’t Takaoka-sensei that I was facing…it was her....it was her….”

“It was just a nightmare,” Karma pointed out softly, although he knew that was likely to be of little comfort and his expression darkened slightly. _What kind of mother gives her son that kind of nightmare?_ It made him even more desperate to know just what she had done this time, although at the same time he feared what Nagisa might say.

“I know…” Nagisa whispered, sniffling slightly as he fought the urge to break down in tears, although he doubted that he actually had any left at this point. “I know that…but she didn’t hesitate…not once…and Karma.” He finally pulled back enough to peer up at Karma, nearly collapsing with relief when he saw no hint of the disappointment he had been expecting to see, and it took him a moment to get his voice to work again, although it wavered slightly. “I think she would do it…if she got the chance and thought she could get away with it…” He buried his face against Karma’s once more, his eyes stinging fiercely at that thought and he felt the tension in his best friend as the redhead's arms tightened around him, and the lack of protest told him that Karma agreed… _She really would do it. She really would kill me…wouldn’t she?_

   For once Karma didn’t have a clue what to say. As much as he wanted to reassure Nagisa that there was no way that could happen, he couldn’t find the words, and he didn’t want to defend the woman. His arms tightened around the smaller teen as he realised at least a little of his hesitation was coming from the fact that he honestly couldn’t deny Nagisa’s words. Still, he knew that he needed to say something, and he had just opened his mouth when Nagisa continued quietly.

“She went through my things.”

“Hmm?” Karma asked with a frown, not liking the strangely calm tone coming from his friend and he peered down trying to get a glimpse of Nagisa’s face, but the smaller teen was still buried against him.

“That’s what set her off this time,” Nagisa replied. “S-She found my notebook.” Karma’s eyes widened in alarm at that, well aware of what notebook he was talking about as he couldn’t remember the last time Nagisa had left that book behind. He hated to focus on anything but his friend at the moment, but he knew he had to ask because if their secret got out because of this, he didn’t want to imagine how much trouble Nagisa would get into.

“Does she…?”

“She thought it was a j-joke, a game…and that was why I had ended up in E-Class,” Nagisa was trembling again, his mother’s voice echoing in the back of his mind and he pressed closer to Karma, trying desperately to remind himself that he wasn’t at home. That for now at least he was safe. _But for how long?_ He knew that there was only so long he could hide out at Karma’s, no matter what the red-head said. He also knew without a doubt what Karma was going to suggest and he swallowed nervously at the thought, even now, after her latest outburst and his realisation that she might be willing to all the way one day he wasn’t sure if he could do it. _But_ _if I don’t…_

“That’s why she did this?” Karma demanded, pulling back so he could ghost his fingers over the side of Nagisa’s face, the bruise had blossomed impressively over the last few hours, and he felt a fresh spark of anger as he stared at the damaged skin. A quick glance showing him that the finger-marks on Nagisa’s arms had darkened as well, and he bit his lip to stop himself from growling at the sight. Seeing Nagisa bruised wasn’t an unusual sight, none of them came through their training without at least a few bruises, but this was different because it had been done with the intent to harm.

“She thought I wasn’t taking her orders to get back into the main school s-seriously,” Nagisa’s lips twisted into a bitter smile, he had never been able to forget her orders. How could he when she was constantly demanding to see his grades? To know what he was doing to get out of E-class? “I told her that it was never going to happen and that I didn’t want it to…” _I was an idiot,_ he already knew from what had happened last time he’d said that to her, but he hadn’t been able to stop them from slipping out, and despite everything that had happened he didn’t regret.  “I knew it was a stupid thing to say…but her e-expression…” He tensed, shuddering for a moment as the memory flickered through his mind and his fingers tightened against Karma’s back as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block the image out. _I’m safe. I’m with Karma. I’m safe._

“Nagisa?”

“You’ve seen how she looks at me,” Nagisa forced himself to continue, glancing up at Karma and catching the small nod. He had always tried to hide the full extent of his home life even from his best friend, and for the most part, his mother had played along as she didn’t want unwanted attention. However, she hadn’t always been able to mask her behaviour especially given often Karma was there. “This was worse…it felt worse than when the principal looks at us. I was nothing to her at that moment…” _How long has it been since I was more than an unwanted burden?_ It hurt to realise that he couldn’t actually recall the last time there hadn’t at least been a hint of disdain in her expression…even when she had been behaving, there had also been an edge to their interactions. _Does she even realise that she’s supposed to be my mother?_

“What happened?” Karma prompted.

“She h-hit me,” Nagisa whispered, reaching up to brush his fingers over his face and wincing as he felt the bruise, shivering as he recalled how she had loomed over him and how he’d frantically tied to shield himself… “But it wasn’t enough…” She had always stopped at that point before, but the rage in her eyes hadn’t been extinguished, and he hadn’t been able to react fast enough once he’d realised that she had no intention of stopping.  “She…she grabbed a pan…I ducked, but it wasn’t enough.”

    _It had only been a glancing blow, but it had hurt like hell, and he’d crashed to the ground with a sharp cry of pain, instinctively flinging his hands up to protect his face in case she decided to attack again, tears spilling down his cheeks as he warily peered up at her. She stood there for a long moment, her chest heaving as she stared down at him with cold eyes, and he couldn’t hold her gaze and found his attention shifting to the pan she was clinging to. She really hit me this time…she meant to hurt me…It had felt like he was coming undone inside, her actions combined with the situation with Karma too much for him to handle at the moment, and he couldn’t stop a choked sob from slipping free._

_“Get to your room!” The noise had drawn her attention, but the cold fire that had been in her eyes a moment before was gone…not that the disgust and disappointment were much better, and he sniffled as he scrambled clumsily to his feet, flinching as she set the pan back on the side with an unnecessary clang. “Get out of my sight!” Apparently he hadn’t been moving fast enough because she shrieked at him again, and he didn’t need any more encouragement to get out of her sight, his hand trembling as he clutched his cheek as he backed out of the kitchen, not trusting her not to do something else if he turned his back…._

     Karma was furious…no he was beyond furious. _She could have killed him..._ A cold feeling washed over him at that realisation, and before he realised what he was doing, he had yanked the smaller teen back into a tight hug, burying his face against Nagisa’s shoulder. _I could have lost him…_ He gritted his teeth, taking a deep breath before pulling back slightly to find Nagisa staring up at him with wide eyes, hating the shadows that he could see in them. It probably wasn’t the best time to bring this up, especially as Nagisa was visibly on edge…but he couldn’t stay silent…not now he knew how close he could have come to losing the smaller teen. There were many things he was willing to risk, but Nagisa was not one of them.

“Nagisa…” He hesitated for a moment before reluctantly releasing the other teen, although he made sure to hold his gaze. _Nagisa…Please. Please listen to me this time…_ He didn’t know what he was going to do if Nagisa continued to refuse to at least try and speak to their teachers…No, that was a lie. He had already his mind up, and Nagisa’s story had only strengthened his resolve, but damn it, he didn’t want to lose their friendship because of this. “Nagisa, this can’t go on. I can’t…I won’t let this go on. She could have killed you last night…”

“I k-know…” Nagisa knew what Karma was saying, and he had known that this had been coming, and yet he was still no closer to knowing what he wanted to do. He knew that there was no reason for him to be protecting her…not anymore, his fingers shaking as he ghosted over his cheek once more, reflecting on the fear he had heard in his friend’s voice when he mentioned the previous night. _Karma never sounds afraid…_

“Then you know we have to stop this before she actually does kill you,” Karma had never sounded so serious in his life, and the smaller teen felt his breath catch in his throat for a moment at the next words the red-head said. “I can’t lose you Nagisa.”

“But…” _I’m scared…_

“I’m going to tell Karasuma and others,” Karma cut across his protest, wincing as Nagisa’s eyes widened in alarm, but he refused to falter. “Even if you don’t want me to…I would rather have you hate me than say nothing and find out that she has finally gone too far.” Before it had always been a distance fear, but the bruise on Nagisa’s face and the terror he had heard in the other’s voice as he explained what had happened, had made it all too real and he wasn’t backing down this time.

  _I’m sorry, but I have to stop this…_

 


	5. Chapter 5

_I’m sorry, but I have to stop this…_

****

    There was a ringing sound in Nagisa’s ears as he stared wide-eyed at Karma. He had never seen the other boy look so serious before, and his breath caught in his throat as he realised that Karma really meant what he was saying. That he was really going to go through with telling their teachers what was going on even if it wasn’t what Nagisa wanted. _You promised…_ The same fear and panic from a few days ago were welling up in his chest, and he frantically bit down on his bottom lip, not quite trusting himself not to snap and say something he didn’t mean. _He’s going to tell. He’s going to tell them everything._ His eyes were stinging again, his vision blurring with fresh tears and yet he couldn’t bring himself to look away from the worried golden eyes holding his gaze.

_‘I would rather have you hate me…’_

    He had caught the pain behind those words, and guilt surged up as he realised that his behaviour over the last few days had caused that pain and he glanced down. _I don’t want them to know_. The thought of other people knowing what was going on, what he hadn’t been strong enough to prevent scared him and the urge to say that, and to refuse to cooperate was strong. _But_ …He didn’t want to protect her, or rather, he couldn’t see why he was trying to defend his mother anymore, and the thought of losing Karma left a sick feeling in the fit of his stomach. _He came for me. Even after how I treated him. How I acted, he came…_ He had half been expecting the other boy not to pick up or to refuse to help, and he wouldn’t have blamed him if he had. Yet Karma hadn’t hesitated for a moment, and it was clear from the look in his friend’s eyes that he really was willing to risk their friendship if it would keep him safe. _I can’t lose this._

   It wasn’t a conscious decision, but he flung himself forwards with a soft cry. He couldn’t get his voice to work, to say what he was thinking and feeling, and he was terrified that if his silence ran on too long that the red-head might take it the wrong way. Desperately he wrapped his arms around Karma, burying his face against the other’s shoulder, relieved when arms immediately came up around him. _I can’t lose this. I can’t._ It was foolish, how much that thought scared him in comparison to everything else that had happened and was happening, but his fingers tightened as it echoed over and over in his mind as he tried to summon up the words that he needed to say.

_I can’t lose Karma_ …

“’Kay…” He whispered brokenly into Karma’s shoulder once he could trust his voice to work, clutching the taller boy even more tightly as the full implications of what was happening. What he was agreeing to hit him all over again, and he buried his face even deeper into the fabric of Karma’s pyjamas, wishing that it was as easy to hide away from everything that was happening. _What have I just agreed to?_ He was shivering, shaking at the mere thought of someone else finding out about his secret, but it was less terrifying than the thought of returning to the way his life had been the last few days. To the thought of losing Karma’s friendship permanently.

“Okay? You’re agreeing…?” It had taken Karma a moment to realise what was happening, as he’d been distracted by Nagisa suddenly launching himself at him and wrapping him up in a hug that was threatening to cut off his air and the need to return the hug as he felt how badly the smaller teen was shaking. The quiet whisper had taken a moment to break through his surprise, and he felt his own eyes beginning to sting when Nagisa nodded silently, and he sucked in a sharp breath before tightening his hold on the smaller teen. Relief and pride warring for control as he realised that Nagisa was still trembling, and feeling the fresh moisture soaking into his clothes. _He’s terrified, but he’s willing to try…_ He rested his head against Nagisa’s, closing his eyes as he allowed the relief to wash over him. He had meant what he had said, but the thought of losing his best friend had terrified him, and his voice was only marginally louder than Nagisa’s as he murmured. “Thank you.”

_Thank you for trusting me, and for being willing to try…_

_And for not pushing me away again…_

**

   They remained like that, just clinging to one another in silence for nearly half an hour. Karma was still trying to reconcile the quiet agreement he had just received, with the furious response he had won only a few days before. His eyes narrowing with anger that it had needed to get worse before they could get to this point. Although his ire was aimed at himself for not going through with his threat to tell the teachers back then before this could happen, and Nagisa’s mother for daring to lay a finger on the smaller teen, rather than at the teen buried in his arms. Part of him wanted to shout at Nagisa, to demand why he couldn’t have agreed to this before it got to this stage, but that part was quickly silenced by the part of him that understood. If he was in Nagisa’s place would he have acted any differently?

   Nagisa in the meantime was trying to come to terms with what he’d actually agreed to do, and what he was going to have to do. _I have to tell people. I have to tell our teachers..._ His doubts weren’t gone in the slightest. He knew that he wouldn’t fully believe that things were going to change, that their teachers would do more than the one that had let them down the last time until he saw it with his own eyes and the thought of reaching out with that uncertainty hanging over him was terrifying. _But what choice do I have?_ He couldn’t lose Karma, and even he couldn’t deny that his mother had gone too far this time. That she had been going too far for too long, but it had taken it getting to this stage before he could admit it aloud even to his best friend. His face was throbbing, a dull ache beneath everything else and he released a shaky breath before pressing closer to Karma.

“W-What now?” Nagisa asked eventually, reluctantly pulling back to peer up at Karma before glancing across at the clock, his expression turning to one of panic as he realised that it was nearing seven o’clock already. _I’m not ready_! The truth was he knew that he wasn’t going to be ready anytime soon, and if he faltered now then he would back out, and lose Karma. Pale, his breath coming in shaky pants he tried to pull himself free. _Get up. Get Ready. Face the music_ , it was a frantic mantra in the back of his head, and the panic broke through into his voice as he added. “W-we should get up, it’s nearly t-time for school.” His words were tumbling over themselves, and he pulled a face, before frowning as he realised that Karma hadn’t made any effort to release him. “Karma?”

“For now we’re going to get some more sleep,” Karma said firmly. Knowing that the idiot was being entirely serious about getting up now and making sure to tighten his arms, refusing to give him the chance to slip out of bed. He knew from experience that there was no winning once Nagisa was actually up and running, and there was no way he was letting that happen. The dark shadows under the blue eyes telling him that the smaller teen desperately needed more sleep and that it was probably only sheer stubbornness still keeping his eyes open. Besides, he hadn’t missed the panic that had crossed the smaller teen’s face when he had seen the time, and he knew that there was no way Nagisa was ready to deal with school and speaking to their teachers just yet, even if waiting a few hours wasn’t really going to make that much of a difference.

“But…”

“I think if there was ever a reason for being late for school,” Karma said softly, a light hint of teasing to his voice although his expression was sombre as he ghosted his fingers over the bruise on Nagisa’s face, lips quirking in a sad smile as he caught the barely concealed flinch that his action earned. In all the time they had been friends he could count the times that Nagisa had flinched away from him on one hand, and each time had always been because of her…he gritted his teeth for a moment, before taking a deep breath and softening his voice as he added. “This is it. I’ve texted Kayano and asked her to tell Koro-sensei we’ll be in later.”

“Oh…” Nagisa blinked, the wind taken out of his sails somewhat as he realised that the red-head was well ahead of him, but then he paled as a thought occurred to him. If they went in later, there was no way they were going to be able to avoid being the centre of attention, and his stomach rolled at the thought of everyone staring at his bruises, well aware that there would be no way they could blame it on training this time. “I…” _I don’t want everyone to see me like this_. He knew that there was really no way of avoiding that unless he missed a few days of school, not something he was willing to do, especially not with exams coming and the deadline for assassination looming over their heads. But he knew without a doubt that there was no way he could deal with everyone’s reactions as well as handle talking to their teachers about what was going on. Hell, he couldn’t even imagine getting those words past his lips.

“Nagisa breathe,” Karma’s voice broke into his thoughts, and it took him a moment to realise that his breathing had sped up as he descended into panic. _I can’t do this_. Frantically he began to shake his head from side to side. What the hell had he been thinking? There was no way he could through with this. No way he could handle other people looking at him and knowing what had happened. It was easier with Karma, because his friend had never one judged him or showed him pity, but he knew that might not be true of everyone else. _I can’t do this!_ “Nagisa!” Suddenly there were warm hands on his cheeks as Karma forced him to meet his gaze. “Calm down, we’ve got time. And if it’s really too much, I will tell them for you.” Deep down he wanted it to be Nagisa that told them. He wanted his friend to be able to take that step forward, but if he couldn’t then, he would be his voice.

“I…”

“We’ll worry about it later,” Karma murmured, relieved to see that Nagisa’s gaze had dropped to his chest and that he was trying to follow the pattern of his breathing, and he deliberately focused on taking slow, steady breaths. Slowly, not wanting to frighten Nagisa when it was obvious that he was already close to the edge he returned his arms back to their previous position, gently pulling until the smaller teen let him guide them both back down so that they were lying on the bed. “See, you’re safe here,” he added reassuringly as Nagisa burrowed against him, realising that he could still feel the other boy’s heart pounding in his chest even though his breathing was gradually settling back into something resembling a normal pattern. “You’re safe.”

   Karma’s words were wrapping themselves around him like a warm blanket, and despite the protests that were trying to bubble up inside. _It’s only temporary…if she finds me…if the teachers don’t help…_ he found himself curling up against his friend’s chest. It had always been this way. It didn’t matter whether the problem was his mother or some schoolyard bullies, the moment he was beside Karma or even better being hugged by him, it felt as though everything else fell away. Not forgotten, but distanced and less threatening and despite his doubts, he felt his eyes slipping shut, fingers clenching in the material of Karma’s shirt as he pressed his face closer, wanting to forget everything but this feeling of safety as the exhaustion he had been trying to ignore washed over him.

_I’m safe…_

   Karma let out a soft sigh of relief when he felt Nagisa eventually going limp against him, eyes soft as he reached up to run his hands through bed-mussed blue hair before letting his hand fall to the side as he turned his gaze towards his bedroom ceiling. While he was relieved that Nagisa seemed willing to at least entertain the idea of telling the teachers what was happening, he didn’t for a moment believe that it was going to be that simple. Even if he was right there beside him, he doubted that the smaller teen would be able to tell them himself. _He’ll probably change his mind before then_ , he acknowledged with a frown, knowing that no matter how hurt and frightened Nagisa was there was still a part of him that cared for his mother or at least wanted to.

“I’m going to tell them no matter what,” he whispered apologetically to the sleeping teen, carefully wrapping his arms around Nagisa once more as he let his eyes drift close, determined to make the most of what peace and quiet they had left.

_Nagisa…_

****

   Kayano frowned down at the text message she had found on her phone that morning, eyebrows raising as she realised what time it had been sent. _What the hell is going on?_ It was unlike Karma to voluntarily contact any of them beside Nagisa, and it was unheard of for the red-head to let anyone know that he wasn’t going to be in class. He generally just sauntered in late or disappeared as and when he felt like it, although he had got better recently. _Because of Nagisa_ …Her frown deepened as she contemplated her other friend’s odd behaviour over the last few days before her gaze refocused on the text - the fact that Karma had texted was worrying, but what was even more worrying was the fact that he had included Nagisa in it. While she was relieved that it seemed like they had at least started to make up, it was virtually unheard of for her blue-haired friend to be late for class. Let alone miss class altogether, and she was fighting the urge to ring him.

   Several things were stopping her from hitting the dial button. One was the memory of Nagisa snapping of them earlier that week, while he hadn’t ignored them since then as he had with Karma, it was clear that things weren’t completely normal and she was worried about making it worse. Secondly, she knew that Karma was probably the best one to get through to him because no matter how mischievous and reckless the red-head appeared to be, she had seen the way he was around Nagisa. While he was willing to push and possibly break everyone else’s limits, he never went anywhere near that point with their friend, and seeing how he had been the last few days she knew that he would be stepping more carefully than ever. Lastly, she could only begin to imagine how serious things must be if Nagisa had agreed to come to school late and as much as she hated to admit it, she wasn’t sure that she was the best person to help with that.

   Sighing she took a deep breath, scanning the text message one last time as though hoping to find answers that she had missed the first time, but there was nothing more to be gleaned from it, and after a moment she typed a quick response. Agreeing to let the others and their teachers know, although she wasn’t looking forward to their reactions, but making it clear that she expected some kind of explanation when they got to school. Her hands tightened around her phone for a moment, wishing that she knew what was going on and that there was more that she could do before reluctantly she tucked it away in her pocket.

_Please Karma, look after Nagisa._


	6. Chapter 6

_Where am I?_ Nagisa wondered as he drifted awake, automatically knowing that he wasn’t at home. No matter what he did, he never felt this safe at home, even in the months when his mother was behaving. Memory came flooding back with the thought of his mother, and his eyes shot open, and he found himself staring up a familiar ceiling, relief flooding him _. I’m at Karma’s_. He knew his best friend’s house better than he knew his own, and he blinked as he became aware of the warmth pressed up against him and he tilted his head, and despite everything pressing in on him he felt his lips quirking up in a fond smile. A conscious Karma was always lively and one the move, it was rare to see him as still and peaceful as he was at the moment with his arm wrapped around Nagisa and his mouth wide open as he snored softly. _Karma…_

   Slowly he pulled his friend’s arm away and slipped out of bed, pausing when the red-head immediately rolled over with a sleepy mumble and a slight frown, before curling up in the warm spot where Nagisa had been a moment before. Nagisa waited for a moment, wanting to make sure that he was fully asleep again before slowly padding towards the door, well aware that Karma had always been a light sleeper even before their assassin training. However, it seemed as though the events of the previous night had exhausted him because there was no sign of him stirring even as the bedroom door creaked loudly as Nagisa slipped out of it.

   Feeling less secure now that he was away from Karma’s side he hurried towards the bathroom, remembering the first time he had stayed over. It had been his first sleepover, and he hadn’t had a clue what to do, or what to expect, but Karma hadn’t minded. Guiding him around the house and showing him where every last thing he might possibly need was, and telling him firmly that if he needed something just to help himself, a message that had been reinforced by his parents. It had still taken him years to get used to that because it was too different from the way things were in his own home. But now it felt like a second home, and he felt his eyes stinging as he realised that it felt more like home than his house did.

_What if I lose this too…?_

   Sniffling he stepped into the bathroom, shivering slightly as his gaze landed on the bath, dredging up the memories from the night before and it took him a moment to wrench his gaze away. Suddenly desperate to get back to Karma, he hurried through using the toilet and washing off his face, hissing as he caught his cheek and then he made the mistake of looking at his reflection and his breath caught in his throat. Blue eyes widened as he got a good look at the damage that his mother had done. His cheek was swollen, and the bruise covered nearly half his face, and his fingers trembled as he reached up to ghost over the injury. Shivering he forced his hand away, reaching down to pull at his sleeves so that he could get a good look at his arms, tears spilling free as he took in the dark marks that littered his skin. _She did this to me. S-she did this…_

   It had been one thing knowing what she had done, it was a completely different matter seeing it, and somehow it had always been worse seeing the evidence of her actions, and he couldn’t hold back a sob. ‘ _I can’t lose you Nagisa,_ ’ Karma’s words from the night before came back to him, and his knees gave way beneath him, his breathing coming in short, sharp pants as he realised just how lucky he had been _. S-she did this to me…_ Hiccupping sobs were wracking his body now, and he huddled in on himself, trying to stifle the noise so that he wouldn’t disturb Karma.

_She did this…_

****

   It had been approaching break-time when Kayano had realised that there was a lot more going on than she had feared. The first sign had been the sound of raised voices from the corridor a moment before Bitch Sensei had burst into the room before quietly hissing at Koro-Sensei to disappear because they had a parent in the building, she could see the irritation on his face before he shot out of the window at Mach speed. She’s exchanged a worried look with Isogai and the others, but they didn’t even have a chance to ask Irina what was going on before Karasuma appeared at the doorway - with Nagisa’s mother in tow. Kayano had only met her a couple of times, but even if she hadn’t, the pale blue hair was a dead giveaway as it was identical to her friend’s and she frowned. _What is she doing here? What is going on?_ She hadn’t told the others about the text she’d had from Karma, and speculation had been rife about the fact that Nagisa wasn’t in class that morning and suddenly she wondered if she should have spoken up earlier.

“Class, this is Mrs Shiota,” Karasuma said evenly, but they could all hear the edge to his voice after the last few months, and Kayano frowned. She knew that it took a lot to ruffle the man, and her gaze flickered to the woman beside him - their interactions had always been short. Apparently, she wasn’t too keen on having lots of kids in the house, but she had always been surprised that someone like Nagisa could have a mother like that. She was derailed from her thoughts when Karasuma continued, and she hastily switched her attention back to him. “Apparently Nagisa ran away from home at some point last night, and we’re hoping that he might have contacted one of you.” _Nagisa ran away?_ If she hadn’t been suspicious before, she was now. Nagisa didn’t run away from things unless it was absolutely necessary, she had seen him face down bullies and Takaoka-sensei even when the most sensible thing would have been to flee _. What is going on?_

“Please…” Mrs Shiota’s voice was soft, and she looked close to tears as she stepped forward to look around the class. “We had an argument, but I’m really worried about him.” There was something off about her expression, but Kayano couldn’t put her finger on it, and she found herself staring intensely at the woman. _What are you hiding?_

“Kayano?” Karasuma’s voice made her jump, and she barely held a squeak, scolding herself for not expecting him to focus on her. With Karma also being absent, she was the one that Nagisa was most likely to have contacted, and she couldn’t stop her hand from slipping down to her pocket. “Have you heard from Nagisa?”

   Kayano glanced down, her fingers curling around the phone hidden in her pocket as she debated what she should do. If it had just been Karma involved she might have been more willing to speak out, after all, they were all used to the red-head getting into mischief, but Nagisa…she couldn’t imagine her best friend doing anything to upset his mother unless it was absolutely necessary. _Nagisa, what is going on? Should I tell her where you are…?_ His behaviour from the past few days played through her mind once more, and slowly she released her phone before refocusing on their teachers and the blue-haired woman stood behind them, praying that her face wasn’t going to give her away.

“I’ve not heard from him,” she replied with a faint shrug, carefully avoiding meeting Karasuma’s gaze as she knew that he would be able to see through the half-lie no matter how good her mask was. “He’s been a bit off all week though.” She didn’t think there was anything wrong in saying that, and it would lend credence to her earlier words. However, her eyes narrowed as she caught the odd expression that flickered across Mrs Shiota’s face at her words. _That isn’t the face of someone worried about her son…_ Kayano still couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something about it that was making her more and more uneasy by the moment, and she struggled not to shift where she sat, her phone burning a hole in her pocket.

“All right,” Karasuma said after a moment, and she made the mistake of lifting her head and meeting his gaze. He didn’t believe her - it was written across his face, at least for her to see although she doubted that Nagisa’s mother would be able to see it and she swallowed nervously, waiting for him to call her out on her lie. However, after a moment he glanced away from her and let her gaze rove across the rest of the class. “Has anyone else heard from Nagisa since last night?” A low murmur of ‘no’s” met the question, and he sighed before his gaze shifted across to Karma’s empty seat. “All right, what about Karma? Does anyone know where he is?” Again everyone was shaking their heads, but Kayano’s gaze was fixated on Nagisa’s mother whose expression had darkened at the mention of the red-head, and she found her hand returning to her phone. _Karma… Nagisa…_

   Karasuma seemed to have picked up on it as well, because there was a tension to his expression that they hadn’t seen since the events at the island and she tensed as he stepped forward, half expecting him to turn to her once more and actually demand the truth this time. However, after a moment he sighed and turned back to Nagisa’s mother.

“Let’s return to my office,” he offered, and this time Kayano didn’t miss the brief flicker of fury in the woman’s eyes, and she was relieved that she had kept quiet, even though she couldn’t help but worry about what that might mean for Nagisa. The entire class was silent as they watched their teacher herding the woman out of the room, with Irina lingering long enough to give them a glance warning them to stay put for the time being before she followed them, the door clicking shut behind them and leaving a tense silence behind them.

   Kayano was trembling as she sat back in her seat, ignoring the chatter that slowly spread out around her, more confident than ever that something serious was going on, and she wasn’t sure that she had done the right thing by staying quiet. But she was sure that she had done the right thing by not saying something to his mother, the woman’s expressions and reactions leaving an uneasy feeling under her skin. _Nagisa_ …Ignoring the worried and curious looks from her classmates she hastily pulled out her phone, fingers flying across the keys, hoping that Karma and Nagisa were still together and they would give her some reassurance that things weren’t as bad as her imagination was beginning to tell her it was.

**_Karma, what the hell is going on? Nagisa’s mother was just here looking for him. I think she might be coming for you. I didn’t tell her that you texted me, but she didn’t look happy when Karasuma mentioned your name._ **

   She bit her lip as she sent the message, hoping that they would get back to her sooner or later as she set the phone back on her desk, her gaze shifting to Nagisa’s empty seat once more. She couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t been there, and the uneasy feeling continued to grow, not helped by the mutterings she could hear around her as the class tried to guess what was going on with the missing teen. Kayano was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the classroom door sliding open again a few minutes later, and she was only drawn out of her impatient waiting for a reply and worried thoughts when a shadow loomed over her desk, and she looked up to find Karasuma staring down at her with dark eyes.

“Kayano I think we need to talk.”

_Oh dear…_

****

   Karma woke to the sound of his phone buzzing angrily on the bedside table, and he yawned widely as he reached out to grab it only to pause as he realised that he was alone in the bed. _Nagisa._ Immediately he forgot about the buzzing phone as he slipped out of bed and rushed for the door. He was fully aware that Nagisa was still on edge about everything that had happened and the fact that he was going to tell their teachers, and he prayed that Nagisa hadn’t done a runner, stomach rolling uneasily at the thought of the smaller teen turning up at school alone - or worse heading home. His hands clenched at the mere thought of that happening because if Nagisa had been injured that badly because of that blasted notebook, he dreaded to think what would happen if his mother realised that he had slipped out last night.

“Nagisa!” He called as soon as he was in the hallway, straining his ears for a response, but there was nothing that he could hear, and he had just begun to hurry towards the stairs when he caught a soft noise from the direction of the bathroom, and he froze for a moment. Hastily he retraced his steps and headed for the bathroom, hesitating for a moment outside the door before gently nudging it, relieved when it opened easily at his touch as he had been a little worried that the smaller teen might have done something stupid as he still hadn’t said anything. “Nagisa?” He asked softly, slipping into the room only to come up short as he took in the figure huddled on the floor in the narrow space between the basin and the bath.

   Nagisa had always been smaller than him, but he had never looked so tiny and vulnerable as he did now, rocking backwards and forwards on the spot with his face burrowed against his knees. He gave no sign that he had heard Karma, or that he was aware of the red-head’s presence, which worried Karma more than anything because the smaller teen had always been highly aware of people around him, and it had only got worse since their training, and he found himself hesitating. He wanted nothing more than to go to his best friend, but if Nagisa was so lost in his own thoughts that he had missed Karma’s entrance, then he didn’t want to risk scaring him. After a moment’s hesitation, he settled for sinking down to the ground by the door, his gaze never leaving Nagisa, and his expression darkened as he caught a glimpse of the bruises that had blossomed spectacularly up his friend’s pale arms.

“Nagisa…” There was still no response, and he bit his lip for a moment, contemplating his options, before beginning to speak in a soft voice. Launching into random stories that popped into his head, golden eyes fixed intently on his best friend, watching for any sign that his words were getting through to the smaller teen. _What happened?_ It hurt to be so close and unable to help, but he knew that he had to wait, unable to risk making the situation worse.

   He wasn’t sure how long he had been talking for, although his throat was starting to feel dry and he really needed the bathroom, but gradually he became aware of the fact that the rocking was beginning to slow although Nagisa still hadn’t made any attempt to look at him. Still, he took it as an encouraging sign, and cautiously he scooted a little closer, only to freeze when Nagisa’s head shot up abruptly, and he found himself pierced by red-rimmed blue eyes. “Nagisa?”

“She did this…” Nagisa’s voice was faint, barely above a whisper and Karma was fairly sure that he didn’t fully know what was going on around him and he frowned in concern, eyes flickering between the bruises on his friend’s arms and the nasty one on his face and comprehension dawned. Nagisa hadn’t had a chance to take in the full extent of the damage last night, and then he’d been confronted by it first thing this morning while still worrying about the thought of talking to their teachers. _No wonder he fell apart._ However, that understanding gave him the courage to continue moving forward although he kept his movements as slow and smooth as possible so that Nagisa could stop him if he wanted to. “She did this…she did this…”

“Shh,” Karma interrupted the whispered litany as he slipped in alongside the smaller teen, barely fitting into the space but not caring as he wrapped an arm around the smaller teen, mindful of the bruises on his arm. “Nagisa, can you look at me?” A low whine met the question, but ever so slowly Nagisa’s gaze rose to meet his and finally, he was rewarded by the sight of the blue eyes focusing on him, although the pain in them cut him to the core. “Hey there…”

“Hey…”

“You had me worried for a moment there,” Karma scolded lightly, and Nagisa blinked at him, completely confused for a moment before understanding dawned and a sheepish expression passed across his face as he asked softly.

“How long?”

“A few minutes, maybe a little longer,” the red-head admitted at the stern look the smaller teen shot at him, immediately tightening his hold on Nagisa as he caught the guilty look that met his reply, and his tone was deliberately light and cheerful as he brushed off the apology he could see forming on the smaller teen’s lip. “Don’t worry about it. Are you all right?”

“No…” Nagisa admitted.

“This?” Karma asked softly, ghosting his fingers over the swollen cheek although he hastily snatched his hand back when Nagisa flinched at the movement. _She did this…_ He hated Nagisa showing fear around him, even though he was reasonably confident that it was the movement rather than him that the smaller teen was reacting to, but he still had to fight to keep the scowl off his face, especially with Nagisa’s earlier litany coming back to him. _She did this to him…._

“Everything,” Nagisa whispered, feeling fresh guilt as he caught the hurt that flickered in the golden eyes when he flinched. _Why am I flinching?_ In the past, he had only flinched once or twice around his best friend, and he couldn’t understand why it seemed worse this time, especially when at the same time he felt safer than he had before now that he was pressed against his friend’s side. “Karma…I…”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not changing my mind,” Karma cut him off softly, determined not to let that argument take root again and Nagusa sighed and shook his head.

“I wasn’t going to ask you to,” he replied softly. He had been sat here for some time, and as much as it hurt to admit he had no longer been able to come up with any arguments about reaching out for help. The bruises couldn’t be covered up with denial this time, and his heart ached as his gaze darted down to his arm… _She did this_. Forcing that thought aside, he tried to get himself back on track. “I…”

“Take your time.”

“I can’t s-say it to t-hem…” Nagisa admitted brokenly, even knowing Karma wouldn’t judge him, especially as the red-head had offered to be the one to tell them if necessary, but it didn’t make it any easier for him to say it. “I can’t tell them.” _I can’t tell them how weak I am. That my mother not only doesn’t want a boy but that she’s willing to go this far_ … He shuddered at the mere thought of it, pressing closer to Karma’s side and shaking his head helplessly, unable to say anything else and hoping that the red-head would understand.

“I told you, I can do that for you,” Karma soothed him, relieved that the smaller teen wasn’t changing his mind, and knowing just what was running through Nagisa’s mind. E class had been good for him, he had found something that he excelled at, and he had been coming into his own. Admitting to all this was going to threaten that, at least in Nagisa’s mind. Realising that Nagisa was beginning to tremble again, he pulled the smaller teen into a proper hug, letting Nagisa bury his face against his chest. “I can do that for you, okay?”

“’Kay…”

****

   Kayano had been relieved to discover that Nagisa’s mother had left before she was led into the teacher’s office, blinking as she found Koro-sensei was waiting there as well, and her hand tightened around her phone that she had slipped into her pocket before following Karasuma. Karma still hadn’t replied, and there was a tight ball of nerves growing in her stomach. _What is going on? Nagisa, why would you run away?_ He had never really talked about his home life as much as everyone else, but he had never seemed unhappy beyond their situation at school, and she found herself replaying every interaction, terrified that she might have missed something important.

“Kayano…” Karasuma’s soft voice broke into her thoughts, and she glanced up at him nervously. She knew that he had seen through her lie earlier, but she still had no idea whether she should tell him about the text message or not. It was why she had been hoping for a response from Karma so that she at least knew they were still together, at least then she might’ve felt more confident about whether she was going to make things worse or not. “I know you were hiding something back there.” His tone wasn’t accusatory, just a simple statement of fact and she felt her face heating up as she glanced away, hand tightening around her phone as she realised Irina and Koro-sensei were watching her intently as well. “If something has happened to Nagisa, you need to tell us.”

“I…”

“Kayano, please,” Karasuma pleaded softly, and she forced herself to turn back to him, and she paused as she caught the genuine concern in his dark eyes. “He’s not been gone long enough yet, but if we don’t find him soon, the police are going to get involved. That won’t be good for anyone.” Kayano swallowed nervously at that thought, well aware that Nagisa had always gone out of his way to avoid trouble _. So, why would he risk it now?_ She hesitated for a moment longer. This wasn’t his mother asking for answers with her odd expression, but their teachers who had done nothing but try to protect them since they’d joined this class and she let out a defeated sigh as she pulled her phone out.

“I got a message from Karma in the early this morning.” She explained, opening it and flicking through to find the message before holding it out for him to see, praying that Nagisa and Karma wouldn’t be mad at her about this. They had told her to tell the teachers they were going to be late, but she had feared that saying that would open a can of worms and so she had held her tongue. Although now it seemed as though that can of worms that was inevitable. “It just says that he and Nagisa were going to be late for school.”

“So they are planning on coming?” Koro-sensei asked, holding out a tentacle and accepting the phone with a frown as he read the message.

“I think so,” Kayano replied with a shrug, completely honest this time because she didn’t know anything beyond that one message. “I texted Karma after you left with that woman.” She couldn’t bring himself to call her his mother, still bothered by the expression she had been wearing earlier, and she made no effort to hide her concern as she added quietly. “I haven’t had a reply yet, but I know that Karma wouldn’t let anything happen to Nagisa.” The last bit gave her some comfort because she knew that was entirely true. More than once she had witnessed just how far the red-head was willing to go to protect Nagusa, but this time she wasn’t sure that was going to be enough.

“Agreed,” Koro-sensei agreed, offering her a small smile before he turned his gaze back to the phone that he was still holding on to, one tentacle tapping at his chin as he studied the message. “However, this is very out character for both of them.”

“What do you want to do? Technically our hands are tied at the moment,” Karasuma pointed out with a scowl, and Kayano worried at her bottom lip. She had been concerned before, but seeing the teachers looking so worried made it ten times worse, and she stared at her phone, willing Karma to reply before things got completely out of hand.

_Karma, please…we need to know you’re both safe._

****

  It had taken a while longer to get Nagisa calmed down as much as possible, although he had earned a small laugh from the smaller teen when he’d had to chase him out so that he could take care of his need for the bathroom. That sound, and the fact that Nagisa seemed willing to go through with reaching out to the teachers bolstered Karma’s spirits and reassured him that despite the events of the last few days he still knew exactly what to do for Nagisa. He wasted no time in the bathroom, re-emerging to find the Nagisa waiting on him, and from the way, Nagisa trailed closely on his heels it might be a while before he was willing to be apart and Karma felt something easing in his chest at that realisation.

_I haven’t lost him, and I’m not going to._

   Downstairs he led the way to the kitchen and set to work on breakfast, ignoring Nagisa’s protests that he wasn’t hungry, knowing that neither of them would be able to get through what was probably going to be a long, horrible afternoon on empty stomachs and then scolding the smaller teen when he tried to help.

“But, I want to help,” Nagisa protested with a frown as Karma swatted at his reaching hand again, although to be honest all he wanted to do at the moment was to curl up in a ball and forget everything that was happening.

“Let me look after you,” the quiet plea worked better than the scolding, and he smiled as Nagisa settled at the table muttering under his breath, well aware that he would probably pay for that comment when everything had settled down. If it settled down. As much as he wanted to believe that everything was going to work out, he knew that it might take a while or be more complicated than either of them anticipated, but he wasn’t going to voice that aloud for the time being.

   He had just set the plates of food down on the table when he remembered that he’d had a message before realising that Nagisa was missing. Muttering a quiet apology he hurried for the stairs, worried that it might be Kayano and that they might have missed something important at school. Although to be honest he couldn’t care less about class or their assassination task at the moment, but he knew that she was worried about Nagisa and he had already left her hanging for far too long. _She’s going to kill me_ …He couldn’t think of anyone else it would be, as his parents weren’t due to call till that evening, which gave him pause for a moment and he pulled a face as he realised that he was going to have one hell of an explanation to give them.

**

   Nagisa had begun to pick at his food as he listened to Karma thudding up the stairs, well aware that the red-head was doing it for his sake so that he knew where he was, as Karma had always been cat-like in his movements and more than once had nearly given him a heart attack because he was so quiet. He still wasn’t hungry, but he knew that Karma was right about making them eat and he hoped that a head start would help him eat enough to satisfy the red-head. It didn’t help that every mouthful sent flashes of pain through his cheek, and after a few mouthfuls he admitted defeat, reaching up to brush his cheek before blinking away tears. Sighing he pushed the food away, tilting his head as he heard Karma pacing in his bedroom and he frowned, knowing that it took a lot to get the red-head to pace.

   He was just contemplating going upstairs to see what was happening when there was a knock at the front door, and he froze at the sound. _It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be…_ His heart was hammering in his chest as shook his head frantically. Deep down he knew that it was unlikely to be his mother. It usually took her until the afternoon when he didn’t come back from school to realise he had taken off, an assumption helped by the fact that he had developed the habit of rising early for school and slipping out before she could complain about him being in E class. Still, even that knowledge didn’t seem to be easing his fear today, but he still rose to his feet and padded towards the hallway as there was another knock, although he paused at the bottom of the stairs.

“Karma there’s someone at the door!” He called up the stairs, unable to bring himself to answer the door himself, terrified that he might be wrong and well aware that he looked like hell at the moment. Approaching their teachers was one thing, but the thought of arousing the suspicions of a well-meaning adult scared him even more. The knock came again, and this time it sounded more urgent, and he shrank back briefly before hesitantly moving towards the door. Only to freeze when there was a sudden flurry of movement from above him as Karma appeared and came thundering down the stairs with an alarmed expression, no sign of his previous calm and his phone clenched tightly in his hands. “Karma?”

“Come away from the door,” Karma hissed as he reached the bottom, grabbing Nagisa, golden eyes narrowing as there was a sudden flurry of knocks and the smaller teen found himself being pulled away towards the stairs.

“What…?”

“OPEN THIS DOOR!” Nagisa froze, the blood draining from his face as he recognised the voice and he was barely aware of Karma’s arm tightening around his shoulders, or the red-head frantically urging him to come back upstairs away from the door.

“No…N-no…NO…”

_Why? Why is she here? Why….?_


	7. Chapter 7

   Nagisa was panicking, his breathing reduced to short, sharp pants and Karma couldn’t blame him, but unfortunately, his frantic cries had just well and truly given away the fact that they were here. There was a brief moment of silence, and then the hammering on his front door intensified, and Karma cursed as Nagisa let out a terrified wail. Had it just been him, he might have given in to the temptation of opening the door and facing her down. He didn’t fear the woman, just what she was capable of doing to Nagisa, but his friend needed him right now so he buried that thought and instead focused on pulling Nagisa against his chest.

“Shh Nagisa, she’s not getting through that door,” he kept his voice deliberately soft, not just to stop Nagisa’s mother from hearing what they were talking about, but because he knew from experience that was the best tone to get through to Nagisa when he was this frightened. With a whimper Nagisa buried his face against him, his frantic denials fading away, but Karma could feel the way his heart was hammering in his chest, and he knew that it would take very little to tip him back over the edge. Cautiously he tightened his arms around Nagisa, golden eyes narrowed as he stared at the door which was shuddering under the impact of her fists and he knew that it wouldn’t be long before she started shouting and screaming again, and he knew that Nagisa was in no state to listen to that.

“Karma, s-she…” Karma started at the quiet whisper, having thought that Nagisa was completely beyond speaking to him at the moment, and his expression softened as he glanced down and found Nagisa peering up at him with wide, teary eyes. It was hard to contain his anger though as he saw the terror in their depths, well aware that Nagisa had always seen his house as a kind of sanctuary, and right now his mother was threatening to take that away from him as well. “She…”

“I know,” Karma said softly, hating the broken tone and his eyes flashed towards the door once more, which had suddenly gone suspiciously quiet. “Let’s go upstairs okay?” He asked urgently, determined to do what he could to protect Nagisa and he was relieved when this time he got a small, but clear nod in response. He shifted his hold so that his arm was slung around the smaller teen’s shoulder, refusing to let him go completely, and from the way, Nagisa pressed into his side as he guided him to the stairs he wasn’t complaining.

  They had barely got halfway up the stairs when there was a thud behind them, the door shuddering under the violent impact, and Karma snarled as Nagisa cried out at the noise. He didn’t miss the way Nagisa’s hand had darted up to his face, and even before he glimpsed the expression on his friend’s face, he knew that the other teen was having a flashback and he wanted to curse as a moment later Mrs Shiota started shrieking at them through the door.

“OPEN THIS DOOR! NAGISA OPEN THIS DOOR!”

“Don’t listen to her,” he hissed, urging Nagisa forward when he tensed and froze at her voice, and he could feel Nagisa’s breathing beginning to catch again as his panic threatened to get the better of him. Growling under his breath, he hefted Nagisa up into his arms, for once relieved about that the other teen still hadn’t seemed to hit his growth spurt, although it still took him a moment to steady himself. As soon as he was sure that he wasn’t going to drop Nagisa, he hurried up the rest of the stairs, the dull thudding against the front door intensifying behind them and he winced. There was no way his neighbours were going to miss all of this happening. _Why did she have to come here...?_ He had known it was going to happen from the moment he had received Kayano’s text, but he had hoped that they might have a little more time to prepare.

   By the time they had reached his room, Nagisa had begun to cry again, his face buried against Karma as he tried to avoid making a sound and the red-head wanted to growl at the action. It was too similar to the times when Nagisa had been unable to escape his house and how he would curl up and try and remain as quiet as possible until she had calmed down. That wasn’t supposed to happen here. That wasn’t supposed to happen around him. He had always made it clear that he wanted Nagisa to be as open as he could be around him, it was one reason he had found their recent estrangement so hard to bear, and he was determined not to let the smaller teen slip back behind his shields. Gently he deposited Nagisa onto his bed, immediately crouching down in front of him and reaching up to steady him, waiting patiently for Nagisa to lift his head to look at him.

“Hey.”

“Hey…” Nagisa replied after a moment, sounding completely defeated and Karma’s expression darkened for a moment before he reached up and tried to brush away some of the tears, but fresh ones replaced them immediately, and he knew that it would take more than words to stop them this time. As he slowly lowered his hands, he was surprised when Nagisa reached out to grab them, his grip verging on painful but Karma swallowed down any complaints as he caught the shadowed look in the blue eyes staring at him. “Karma…I-I s-should…” _I should go to her. I should go home before this situation gets any worse…_

“No!”

“But…”

    Karma hesitated for a moment, well aware that no matter how terrified he was, Nagisa would willingly walk down those stairs and hand himself over to his mother if he thought it was the only choice he had, or that it was the only way to protect Karma. There was no way the red-head could let that happen. Even now he could hear Nagisa struggling to breathe properly, tears still trickling down his cheeks, and after a moment his eyes hardened. As much as he hated to admit it, this was beyond him this time. They needed help. Gently freeing one of his hands he snatched up his phone, fumbling with the keys as he typed a short message. It would have been better to call, at least then he could attempt to find some way to explain what the hell was going on, but Nagisa needed him at the moment, and he doubted that he would be able to cope with hearing him talk about it right now.

**_Kayano, please send help!_ **

   It was short and to the point, and he just prayed that she wouldn’t think that it was a joke and that their teachers really were going to live up to the faith he had been putting in them. Snapping the phone shut he set it aside, wincing as there was another loud bang from downstairs, hastily moving to sit beside Nagisa when the smaller teen whimpered at the noise and drawing him back into a tight hug. He hated feeling this helpless, and the urge to fight was rising stronger and stronger in his chest, but the thin arms now wrapped around his body held him in place, and he settled for hugging Nagisa back, although the fire in his eyes grew with each bang and shout from down below.

_Kayano. Koro-Sensei, please hurry…_

****

   Kayano was stood watching as the teachers debated their options. On the one hand, she could understand that until they had more information to go on, they were bound by both their roles and the fact that their class had to be protected because of what it was. However, part of her just wanted to scream at them to try and find Nagisa. It didn’t help that Karma still hadn’t responded to her warning, and while a wild part of her mind could quite easily conjure images of him trying to deal with the situation himself, she knew from experience that he suddenly developed a certain amount of caution when Nagisa was involved. Although it hadn’t been until the incident on the island that she realised just how much he watched out for the smaller teen, she had thought that it was impossible for Karma to feel fear and yet there had been terror in his golden eyes when he’d watched Nagisa fighting Takaoka.

“We can’t just go interfering with a student’s home-life,” Karasuma was saying when she brought her attention back to the discussion, and she frowned, glancing across at Koro-Sensei and noting the black tinges that had already appeared around his neck. “Especially when we have no proof that anything is actually wrong.”

    _Proof?_ She thought incredulously as she glanced down at her phone, what more did they need? Nagisa had never missed class before, and Karma wasn’t one to let them know when he wasn’t going to be there. Her fingers tightened around it, the rational part of her knew that wasn’t enough, not with a governmental secret hanging over their head, but these were her friends they were talking about. She opened her mouth, determined to get them to at least look into it, although she had no idea what to say to get them to agree. However, before she could say anything her phone lit up in her hand and she nearly dropped it with a startled squeak. Only vaguely aware of all eyes turning towards her as she fumbled to open the message as soon as she saw Karma’s name on her screen, her stomach plummeting as she read the four simple words on the screen, and there were tears in her eyes as she looked to the teachers.

“They need help!” The phone was snatched out of her hand before she could blink, unsurprised when Koro-sensei’s face darkened as he read the message before tossing the phone towards a startled Karasuma.

“I think we have our proof.”

“Please…” Kayano began, but there was no need for her to say anything before Karasuma had even managed to look up from the message Koro-sensei was gone, only the window rattling in his wake indicating where he had gone. She was barely aware of Karasuma’s muttered curse as she darted forward and snatched her phone back, typing a quick response although she knew that Koro-Sensei would probably get there first, tears prickling at her eyes.

_Nagisa. Karma, please be okay._

****

   Karma’s jaw was clenched tight as he pressed his hands as best as he could over Nagisa’s ears, trying to stop the smaller boy from listening to the insults and threats floating up from downstairs. It hadn’t taken her long to realise that they weren’t going to open the door and let her in, and she had resorted to trying to tear his friend apart with her words. Each barb increased his fury, and he was storing each and every word away in his memory, determined that they would be used against her when they got out of there. Nagisa was utterly silent, his face buried against his chest, and while he knew that he must be muffling some of the words, the small flinches wracking his best friend’s body told him that some of the words were breaking through.

   His phone was silent beside them, and he was worried that the message hadn’t got through, unsure of how much longer either of them could endure this. Just as he was contemplating sending another message, there was a loud smashing sound from down below, and his eyes went wide as he realised it had come from the living room. _Damn._ Nagisa had tensed in his arms, and he realised that he had unintentionally lowered his hands, allowing Nagisa to clearly hear the sound of glass crunching under someone’s feet and Karma snarled as his friend whimpered under his breath. _She’s gone too far_ …His hands were trembling slightly as he began to ease Nagisa to the side, anger churning as he heard her calling for Nagisa with a faux, sweet voice and he had just risen to his feet when Nagisa spoke.

“Koro-sensei…” Nagisa’s quiet whisper caught his attention just as his phone buzzed angrily on the bed, and he turned to follow the smaller teen’s gaze, blinking at the sight of their teacher outside the window. Their furious teacher. It had been a long time since any of them had seen Koro-Sensei’s face that particular shade, and while Karma would deny it up until his dying breath, the octopus was actually terrifying at the moment, and he found himself hesitating. Not that it mattered, as their teacher had the window open in a split second, some of his normal yellow seeping back into his skin as his gaze turned towards Nagisa.

“Nagisa-kun…”

“We need to go now,” Karma hissed as he heard movement on the stairs. As much as he wanted to confront the woman, or watch their teacher deal with her, he knew that could wait. That it had to wait, his gaze shifting to Nagisa who had frozen at the sound, and it was clear that Koro-sensei had also realised that was more important as neither of them had time to say anything else before they were scooped into a gentle hold. Karma barely had a chance to appreciate the irony that this monster who was supposed to be destroying the world in a few months was capable of showing more gentleness towards them than the woman currently coming up the stairs towards them and then they were gone. And as he glanced across at Nagisa, he prayed that this moment was going to mark the end of that part of his friend’s life.

_Please…_

****

  Kayano had been pacing anxiously ever since she had sent her reply, waiting for a response or for Koro-sensei to return and she nearly collapsed into a relieved heap when the three of them appeared in a blur of motion, and she charged forwards to greet them with tearful eyes.

“Karma! Nagisa!” There was no missing the way that Nagisa had flinched at the loud cry, and an awkward silence fell as the smaller teen hid himself behind Karma with a noise that couldn’t be mistaken for anything but a whimper. Kayano felt herself welling up as she caught a brief glimpse of his face, horror flooding her at the sight of the bruise covering his cheek, but what hurt the most was the fear in his eyes. Fear that she knew that she was partially responsible, and she took a careful step back, her voice dropping to something barely above a whisper. “Nagisa?” There was no response for a moment, and then Karma sighed before shifting slightly so that he could pull the smaller boy into a hug, dropping his head to whisper something in Nagisa’s ear.

“Sorry, Kayano-chan…” Nagisa had never been particularly loud, another reason why his close friendship with Karma seemed odd at times, but right now he sounded like he could disappear at a moment’s notice and it hadn’t escaped her notice that he had burrowed closer to Karma even as he spoke.

“It’s okay…” She had never seen someone frightened of her before, and it hurt that Nagisa was the first and she glanced uncertainly at Karma, seeing the pain beneath the anger burning in golden eyes. “But... What happened?” Nagisa visibly tensed at her question, and Karma’s expression darkened, and he glanced across at their teachers, shooting them a pleading look as he felt the tremor that worked its way through the smaller boy.

“All right, I think we need to give these two a little bit of space,” Koro-sensei said softly, clapping his tentacles together, and Kayano found herself being herded out of the room along with Karasuma before either of them could argue. Not that she had it in her to argue at the moment, not after seeing the state her friends were in and when she glanced back just before the door shut behind them, she caught the pained expression on Karma’s face as his anger melted away.

_What the hell is going on?_

**

  Karma could still feel his own heart thudding in his chest, he had honestly thought that help wasn’t going to come in time and he was relieved that Koro-sensei had caught onto the fact that they needed more time before attempting to talk about what had happened. If he felt like this, he dreaded to think how Nagisa must be feeling right now. The fact that he had reacted to Kayano like he had was more than enough evidence that he wasn’t okay, and Karma tightened his hold as he felt the damp patch that was steadily forming on the front of his top, only then realising that they were still in their pyjamas. He couldn’t believe that it was still morning, it felt like it had been one hell of a long day already and he sighed as he rested his head against Nagisa’s.

   He wasn’t sure how long they stood like that, and he didn’t particularly care, even if he knew that their teachers must be waiting to talk to them. They both had a hell of a lot to take stock of, and he was startled when Nagisa was the first one to pull away, and he had to fight the urge to keep him close. Even now, when they were in the safety of their own school, he didn’t feel comfortable releasing the smaller teen, and he was relieved when Nagisa stopped once he could peer up at him, his expression softening as he studied the other boy. Nagisa was a mess, the bruise standing out lividly against pale skin and made worse by the harsh lighting in the staffroom, and his cheeks were a mess of tear-tracks, but it was his eyes that scared Karma the most. Even when he had been trying to pull Nagisa upstairs away from the door, there had been more life in them, than there was right now and he swallowed nervously before reaching up to try and brush the tears away.

“Nagisa…?”

“Why?” Nagisa’s eyes remained empty, despite the raw pain in his voice. “Why did she…?”

“I don’t know,” Karma admitted reluctantly, wishing that he had the answers the other teen was looking for, although looking at Nagisa at the moment he doubted it would help. But it was troubling him as well, even when she had been at her worst in the past, she had never gone this far before. There had always been an element of risk in telling their teachers, but now he was terrified about what might happen if they refused to help them or if they were unable to help. Because there was no way Nagisa’s mother was going to forget this, and there was no way Karma could let his friend go back to her. Koro-sensei’s furious expression flashed through his mind, and he prayed that was the reaction that would hold sway. “But it’s not going to happen again.” _I don’t care what I have to do to make that promise come true…_

“You don’t know that.”

“Nagisa?”

“It’s okay…I won’t stop you from telling them,” Nagisa sounded more defeated than ever, and Karma found himself floundering for once as he stared into empty blue. N _agisa._ He couldn’t really blame the other teen for falling apart completely, not after everything, but he had no idea how to stop it and that left a bitter taste in his mouth. Unfortunately, his hesitation seemed to have confirmed something that only Nagisa understood because a twisted, bitter smile flickered across the smaller teen’s face before he added softly. “But it’s not going to change anything. I’m going to have to back there, aren’t I?”

“No!”

   Karma was prevented from saying anything else by the door opening behind them, not that he’d had any idea of what to say this time, and he automatically turned and placed himself between Nagisa and the door, only to come up short as he found himself facing Karasuma and Korosensei. Both teachers looking grimmer than he had ever seen them before, and that was before their gaze shifted towards Nagisa, and he paled when he realised that by moving he had afforded them a clear view of his best friend. He knew the moment that both of them had got a clear look at Nagisa’s injury. As the former’s jaw clenched, while black was beginning to seep back into Koro-Sensei’s expression and he sighed before stepping back, and hesitantly wrapping an arm around thin shoulders and pulling Nagisa into his side.

“I think it’s time you told us what is going on,” Karasuma said stiffly, looking every inch the stiff governmental official, but Karma could see the concern underlying that mask, and he glanced down at Nagisa, silently asking for permission one more time. Not that he would stop now, not after the events of the morning, still he was relieved when caught the tiny nod in response to his silent question, and he took a deep breath before turning back to their teachers. _This was it…_ He opened his mouth to reply, only to find the words sticking in his throat and his free hand curled into a fist at his side. _Why can’t I say it? Why?_ His jaw clenched as he fought to get the words out, only to freeze as a quiet voice spoke up at his side.

“My mother did this...”


	8. Chapter 8

   Nagisa’s quiet words hung in the room for several minutes, and Karma couldn’t help but think that his friend had just stumbled on the perfect way to stop a conversation, as it seemed as though no one seemed to know what to say. Although given the way that Koro-sensei’s face growing steadily darker and darker, towards the jet black they all knew to fear, that might not be such a bad thing. Nagisa had moved closer to him until he was practically pressed up behind him, and the red-head could feel the trembling fingers that had caught the back of his top. Blindly he reached back to wrap his hand around Nagisa’s wrist, keeping his hold lose and non-threatening, highly aware of the bruises on his arms. However, narrowed golden eyes never left their teachers, waiting to see how they were going to react, and praying that they weren’t going to be like their old teacher.

_Please,_ _that would break him…_

“I believe this a conversation we should be sitting down for,” Karasuma spoke up finally, realising that someone needed to say something as Nagisa looked ready to bolt at any moment, and it was clear that the rest of this conversation was going to be unpleasant. He glanced at the smaller teen who was watching everything warily from behind Karma, struggling not to let his anger show as his gaze lingered on the bruise covering the teen’s face. The thought of anyone, let alone a parent, laying a hand on his pupil making it hard to maintain his usual professionalism. “And I think you could both use some tea or something…” The words were barely past his lips before Koro-Sensei had moved, and the three of them could only watch with their usual bemusement as the entire room was rearranged around them, making room for a small sofa and chairs that they recognised from the main school. They weren’t given a chance to protest the ‘loan’ before they were gently eased into the seats, the two boys finding warm mugs of sweet tea pressed in their hands and a plate of cakes that looked like he had taken a side-trip abroad in the middle of arranging things.

“There I think we will be more comfortable now,” Koro-sensei said when he slowed to a normal speed, dropping into the spare chair beside Karasuma and it was clear that taking care of everything had also been a method to calm himself down. Because while there was still a hint of red and black mottling his cheeks, the jet black that had been spreading before had disappeared. “I also asked Irina to keep everyone away from here for a while, so there won’t be any risk of us being overheard.”

“Thank you,” Karma was the one to reply, Nagisa pressing tightly against his side, fingers turning white from how tightly he was clutching his mug. However, he had caught the minute relaxing of tense muscles in reply to that news, and he knew that had at least eased his worries about the rest of the class finding out. Even though they both knew that it was only delaying the inevitable, as there would be no way of hiding this from the others.

   The teachers waited until the boys had drunk some of their tea, watching as Karma gently encouraged Nagisa to drink, seemingly unaware of their scrutiny. Although that illusion was dashed as he shot them a knowing glance out of the corner of his eyes, telling that he was fully aware of what they were doing, and there was something in his expression that told them they were being judged, they just weren’t entirely sure what on.

“Nagisa-kun?” Koro-sensei asked quietly, voice more solemn that they had ever heard from him before. The colour in his face still flickering as his gaze shifted to the bruise on Nagisa’s face when the smaller teen reluctantly lifted his head; and they all saw the way one of his tentacles stretched out as though wanting to help, although he managed to snatch it back as Nagisa tensed, his voice softer as he continued. “Can you tell us what happened?”

“I…” Nagisa tried to answer, he honestly did. He still wasn’t happy with the idea of risking telling their teachers, of everyone finding out what was happening at home. Yet at the same time, he knew that he could no longer deny that something had to change and that this might be the only way to bring about that change. But the words wouldn’t come. Apparently, he had used up all his courage with those four words, the silence that had followed not helping and he glanced helplessly up at Karma. “Karma…I can’t…”

“It’s all right, I’ll do the rest,” Karma said softly, feeling Nagisa’s fingers tightening against his arm for a moment before the smaller teen relaxed slightly. It had been his promise he realised. Even though he had been all set to tell their teachers, even if it had meant going against Nagisa’s wishes, part of him had still wanted to stay true to that promise. Part of it was because he had never once broken his word to Nagisa. No matter how far he might go with his teasing, he had never lied or broken a promise because he knew that the smaller teen had needed that stability. Another part had been fear, fear of what he might lose if he acted against Nagisa. But now that Nagisa had broached the subject of his own free will, he could feel the coils of pressure in his chest easing, he could tell them what was happening without feeling guilty and without breaking up their friendship. “Is that all right?” He asked turning to look at the teachers, and after a moment he got a nod of consent, and he took a deep breath as he contemplated where to begin, glancing down to find Nagisa staring up at him with dark eyes. The same shadowed eyes, that eight-year-old Nagisa had given him the day he had finally learned about his friend’s home life, and his resolve hardened, even as he gently pulled the smaller teen closer, offering him the option of hiding if it became too much before turning his attention back to their teachers.

   It was harder than he had anticipated keeping his voice even remotely level as he launched into the story of the start of their friendship, and the suspicions he had harboured about Nagisa’s behaviour, feeling Nagisa tense at that part and realising belatedly that he had never spoken about that. It had seemed unnecessary after he had learnt the truth, and he gave the smaller teen an apologetic glance, making sure that it was okay to continue and receiving a tiny nod before he continued, his voice darker as he spoke about that day. About how they’d fled the house, and hidden away in their childhood sanctuary, about the promise he had made and the secret that he had learned nearly seven years ago now.

 _I waited too long_ …

    The realisation of just how long it had been made him falter for a moment, and for the first time he had found himself unable to look at the teachers or Nagisa. _I was the only one who knew all this time. I was the only one who could have stopped this before it got to this point._ He had always known that it was wrong to hide this, but after their attempt at reaching out for help, he had convinced himself that it was better this way. That at least someone knew the truth and could be there for Nagisa. It was harder to convince himself of that now in light of how bad things had become. _I should have spoken up sooner, but I couldn’t…I…_ His whirling thoughts were brought to a halt as a tentacle came to rest on his head, tousling his hair gently, and slowly he raised his head to find Koro-Sensei watching him with understanding eyes.

“You did what was necessary at the time.” It wasn’t a complete absolution, but it was enough to calm him, helped by the fact that Nagisa had pressed against his side and he took a deep breath before nodding. _I did what was necessary at the time_. He knew that in a way at least that was true, that Nagisa would probably have never opened up to him back then about what was going on at home unless he made that promise and the thought of Nagisa having remained silent… struggling alone with this secret for all this time, was enough to give him the courage to continue, Koro-sensei pulling back as he caught the new edge of determination to the redhead's expression.

   The next bit was harder in a way because he could hear Nagisa’s breathing beginning to speed up and he had barely begun to explain in full what he had learned that day when the smaller teen abruptly burrowed against him, hiding his face and Karma paused as he felt the tremors wracking his friend. Ignoring the teachers, he gently rearranged them so that Nagisa was virtually sat in his lap, his arms wrapped around him, allowing Nagisa to completely hide his face from everyone.

“Do you want me to stop?” He asked gently, and there was a brief moment with no response, but eventually, Nagisa shook his head slightly still making no effort to pull his face from its hiding space. “Okay…” He absently drew patterns on Nagisa’s back as he tried to get his thoughts back in order, well aware that the sensation soothed his friend. It was something that he had taken to doing years ago on bad nights when they’d curled up in bed, and he’d been trying to drive away his friend’s fear. Or nightmares if they had been roused by bad dreams, and he was relieved to feel some of the tension disappearing under his fingertips, although most of it reappeared a moment later when he continued in a soft voice.

   Now he was focused intently on the teachers once more. Watching their reactions as he explained how Nagisa's mother had always wished for a girl, a daughter, rather than the son she had been given and how she had blamed Nagisa for not being born as the child that she wanted.

   Both of their faces had darkened at that. But it was their expressions when he quietly explained how Nagisa had been forced to wear dresses at home, something that had declined a little in recent years and how she would play with his hair and put makeup on him. Treating him as a doll rather than a person, that made him think, that maybe just maybe this had been the right decision, that they would be able to give Nagisa the help that he had been denied years ago. It was that hope that let him continue, although his voice cracked a little as he described the first time he had witnessed the damage she was willing to inflict on the rare occasions that Nagisa had tried to stop her from treating him like that.

_It had been a year after Karma had first learned about the reality of his friend’s home life. A year since he had promised to keep it secret. Up until that point, nothing had outwardly changed. Now that he knew what was happening he learnt to keep a closer eye on the smaller boy, becoming even more outgoing and distracting and using his presence to attract attention away from Nagisa when the shadows in those blue eyes were darker than normal. Inviting Nagisa around as often as possible, and trying to make his home as welcoming as possible, wanting to give his friend somewhere to hide that was completely separate from his home life. He’d even taken to stepping forward in games or when they were made to do drama in school when people would look at Nagisa for girly rolls if they didn’t have enough girls to fill the roles. Well aware that there was more to the reluctant protests from his friend, uncaring when the others couldn’t understand why he kept adopting parts like that._

_Things had been normal, or as normal as it could be with a secret like that hanging over them, and then it wasn’t. The first sign he had that something was wrong was Nagisa missing school. The blue-haired boy had always hated to miss school even back then, and Karma had spent the entire day glancing between the empty seat where Nagisa belonged and the door, waiting for him to show up and unable to shake or explain the uneasy churning in his gut. Nagisa hadn’t shown up. But naively he had allowed himself to be convinced that he was just ill and that he would be back in a day or two, telling himself that Nagisa would have reached out to him somehow if it had been anything else._

_Four days had passed, and still there was no sign of his friend, and asking the teacher had just led to some mumbled excuse that his mother had phoned in to say he was sick. The vagueness and the mention of Nagisa’s mother had caused his concern to blossom in full-blown fear, and that had been the first day that he had slipped out of school. Not caring that he was going to get into trouble, or that there was probably nothing a nine-year-old could do even if something bad happened, unable to focus on anything but the thought that something had happened and that he had promised that he would do anything he could to protect Nagisa._

_His anger had already been close to the surface, but it had threatened to explode when he had cautiously approached Nagisa’s house and realised that their car was missing. Even if Nagisa was genuinely ill, he had been left alone, and the red-head had growled at the mere thought of his best friend curled up in bed, alone and miserable. Karma had an independent streak a mile wide, but whenever he was ill he always regressed to a needy, dependent child, needing and loving the attention that he would get at those times, and his hands curled into fists at the thought of Nagisa being denied even that much._

_Now that he knew Nagisa’s mother wasn’t home, he approached the front door confidently, uncaring that the neighbours would notice him as he knocked sharply on the door. The house was silent, but he wasn’t discouraged, and he knocked again, before pressing his face to the glass and catching a hint of movement further than the hallway._

_“Nagisa it’s me!” He called, fairly sure he had just caught a glimpse of blue hair, and he was rewarded with a glimpse of movement, and he made his voice softer as he called again. “It’s Karma! Can you let me in?” Slowly his friend came into sight, inching nervously towards the door, his gaze fixated on the floor and stopping Karma from getting a good look at his face and the uneasy feeling in the Karma’s stomach intensified._

_“K-Karma?” Nagisa had come to a halt on the other side of the door, hand hovering near the door handle, but still making no attempt to lift his head or look at Karma._

_“Yeah…”_

_“Why are you here?” Karma wanted to growl at the question, where else was he going to be? Nagisa had been missing from school for four days, there was no way the red-head was going to ignore something like that, and he had thought that his friend would be able to realise that much at least. However, there was something about how Nagisa was standing that made him swallow back his anger, and he softened his voice as he lifted a hand to rest against the glass._

_“I was worried about you,” he caught the way Nagisa jolted at his words, frowning at the thought that Nagisa had been surprised by that and it was hard to keep his voice level for the next bit. “I’m still worried…so will you let me in? Please?” That was his secret weapon, and he knew that he had one the moment that Nagisa sighed…he rarely asked that nicely for things, and he had long since learned that Nagisa never had the heart to turn him down when he said it. However, there was no smugness over his victory, his stomach tying itself in nervous knots as Nagisa slowly unlocked the door, and Karma had to force himself to stay where he was, not wanting to frighten the smaller boy._

_All thoughts of moving…of demanding answers…of hugging his friend to reassure himself that Nagisa was all right after days of not seeing him, disappeared when the door finally opened and he got his first good look at his best friend, and it suddenly felt like he couldn’t catch his breath. Nagisa was pale, he was always pale, but now it looked like someone had drained all colour from his face, even his eyes seemed dimmer than usual, and all that did was emphasise the dark bruise around his left eye. It had taken him several minutes to get his arm to work, his hand trembling as he reached up, noting the fearful eyes watching his every movement and the tiny flinch that Nagisa tried to hide as he ghosted his fingers over the injury._

_“She did this, didn’t she?” It wasn’t really a question, there was no doubt in his mind, but he still let out a soft noise that was halfway between a groan and a growl when Nagisa nodded, looking off to the side to avoid his gaze. Seeing the fear and embarrassment, and realising that the smaller boy was waiting for him mock him or push him away, he shoved his anger aside, closing the distance between them and wrapping his arms around his friend. “I’m so sorry Nagisa…” He wasn’t entirely sure what he was apologising for, but he needed Nagisa to hear the words and from the way that Nagisa was now clutching him, shaking as soft, broken sobs escaped it had been what the smaller boy needed to hear, and Karma had found himself fighting back his own tears as he tightened the hug._

   Karma blinked, slightly embarrassed to realise that his eyes were stinging even though that particular memory was now years old. And considering last night and this morning, it paled in terms of being his worst memory. But it was unforgettable because it had been the first time that he had truly comprehended the danger that Nagisa was facing every day and the lengths that Hiromi was willing to go to, to get his friend to submit to her image of what he should be…it had also been the first time he had seriously contemplated breaking his promise. Instead, he had spent the rest of the afternoon curled up in Nagisa’s room, letting the smaller boy cry himself out and trying to reassure him that no matter what, Karma wasn’t going to walk away. Afear that had taken years to completely eradicate, or not, he thought glancing down at Nagisa and recalling the past week with a pang.

“Was that the first time she’d hit you?” Karasuma asked softly, and to the untrained ear he would have sounded completely calm, but after the past months of training under him and following him without hesitation, they had learned to hear the hidden notes in his voice, and there was no mistaking the fact that he was angry. No beyond angry. This went even beyond his temper when they had been threatened by Takaoka or other assassins, and for the first time, Karma realised just how terrifying the man could be. But he didn’t fear him, and given that Nagisa hadn’t tensed at his tone, he had also realised that the anger wasn’t directed at them.

“No…” Nagisa mumbled hesitantly, and Karma froze before glancing down at the teen who was still buried against him. Back then, Nagisa had told him that it was the first time she had gone that far and for a moment he swayed between anger and a slight sense of betrayal. _Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you hide this from me?_ Nagisa’s arms tightened around him for a moment, before the smaller teen pulled back and peered up at him with red-rimmed eyes, the sight putting a damper on Karma’s anger as he hadn’t realised the smaller teen was crying. “You were so angry. I was scared that if you knew that it was worse that you would lash out…I wanted to protect you.”

“Nagisa…”

“I know it was stupid, but you were doing s-so much for me,” Nagisa whispered, blinking furiously in an attempt to stop more tears from falling, fingers clutching at Karma’s top. He had always known that there would be a time when Karma’s fury towards his mother wouldn’t be held at bay any longer, and it had been the only thing he could think of back then to keep the other's temper in check…he heard Karma sigh above him, and he flinched, waiting for the angry words he was sure he was about to receive, and he began to duck his head, only to be halted by a gentle hand grasping his chin and tilting his face upwards, and he blinked as he realised that Karma’s gaze was sad rather than angry. “Karma…?”

“How much else did you hide from me?”

“Nothing,” Nagisa said immediately, meeting Karma’s gaze without hesitation so that the red-head could tell that he wasn’t lying, his lips quirking weakly as he added softly. “You made me promise that I wouldn’t hide anything from you, remember?” It always seemed to boil down to promises between them he thought wryly, and from the brief flicker in the golden eyes, Karma’s thoughts had taken the same direction.

_They had been having a sleep-over at Karma’s a couple of months after their failed attempt to ask for help, lying curled up on Karma’s bed as it was getting late and they had long since lost interest in the game they had been playing earlier. Karma’s parents had long since abandoned setting up a futon for him to sleep on, as invariably they would slip in together at some point, usually when Nagisa’s nightmares flared up. Nagisa was slowly drifting towards sleep, relaxed after an entire day without having to deal with his mother or worrying about what might set her off and Karma had been quiet for the last few minutes, and he was surprised when the red-head rolled over to face him, nudging him gently in the side._

_“Hey, Nagisa…”_

_“Yeah?” Nagisa mumbled, peeking sleepily at the older boy, hoping that Karma wasn’t about to suggest some mischief or another as all he wanted to do now was sleep. However, he was caught by surprise by the oddly serious expression on his friend’s face. “I want you to promise me something.”_

_“What is it?” Nagisa rubbed at his eyes, not sure what to make of the serious expression and tone, so at odds with his usual attitude and he raised himself up slightly when the red-head seemed to hesitate, golden eyes fixed on something that only he could see. “Karma?”_

_“I want you to promise me that you won’t hide anything from me,” Karma said finally, focusing on him once more and Nagisa hoped that his expression wasn’t reflecting the fear that had just flooded him. Had Karma realised that he’d lied back then when he’d said it was the first time his mother had lifted her hand against him? He swallowed nervously, but before he had to think of anything to say Karma had continued. “I’ll keep your secret…so please, tell me if anything happens, no matter how small or insignificant you think it is.”_

_There it was, the rarely used ‘please’ and Nagisa knew that there was no way he would have been able to refuse, even if Karma hadn’t been staring him with wide, worried eyes and he sighed before nodding._

_“I promise.”_

   They were both drawn back to the present by Karasuma clearing his throat, and they turned to find him staring at them with a grim expression, and Karma felt Nagisa scooting closer to him. Clearly, not completely comfortable around their teacher even though they knew his anger wasn’t aimed at them and he shot the older man a warning look, silently asking him to go gently. Apparently, the message had got through because Karasuma sighed and tried to relax his expression before leaning forward slowly, making sure to hold Nagisa’s gaze as the smaller boy watched him with wary eyes.

“I’m sure that you still have more to tell us, but first I have to ask…” He seemed to hesitate for a moment, and this time it was Karma who tensed as he had caught the way that Karasuma was glancing between them and he had a feeling that he knew what question was coming. “Why didn’t you tell someone else before this?”

_And there it is. Now the real question is going to be answered, were we right to trust you?_


	9. Chapter 9

   Nagisa went completely rigid at the question, feeling his breathing beginning to quicken, his heart pounding so loudly in his chest that he was sure that they must all be able to hear it _. ‘Why didn’t you tell someone else before this?’_ He knew that Karasuma hadn’t meant any harm, that he was just trying to get his head around the situation. He knew that, and yet those words cut deeper than he cared to admit, and suddenly he couldn’t bear to look at the older man anymore, his breath hitching in a sound that was suspiciously close to a sob as he whirled around to press his face against Karma’s chest once more. He was oddly relieved to feel that his friend’s heart was pounding just as hard as his, and he pressed his ear against the sound, his fingers clutching at Karma’s arms.

_We did…we did…we did…_

_Nagisa was trembling violently as they stood outside the door to their classroom, and he knew that it was only Karma’s hand holding his that was stopping him from bolting. The redhead had taken one look at the bruise on his cheek, one of the first openly visibly injuries his mother had inflicted in a long time and declared that they had to tell someone. He had tried to refuse, to protest, to remind Karma that the redhead had promised that he wouldn’t tell anyone, but Karma had been an unstoppable force. No, as scared as he was, Nagisa knew that if he had really wanted to, he could have held out against Karma, and he sniffled as he realised that some part of him must want this to end._

“Ready?” Karma’s voice was soft, a gentleness to the golden eyes that met his that most of their class had never even glimpsed let alone experienced this close, and despite the situation, Nagisa felt himself calming slightly. He knew that it was foolish, but he had always felt like he could do anything with Karma at his side. Just the fact that Karma knew what he was enduring at home had made it that little bit more bearable, and that was why he was able to nod slightly even though he was literally shaking with fear.

_It was Karma. It was always Karma taking that first step in their friendship, and Nagisa would be forever grateful for that fact…who reached out and pushed the classroom door open, gently pulling Nagisa along behind him._

_Their Teacher, Miss. Kusanagi had looked at their entrance, and Nagisa had immediately noticed that she didn’t seem surprised to see them, or fazed by the bruise on his cheek,. And he'd come to a halt, causing Karma to falter as well, an uneasy feeling pooling in his stomach. It had become a matter of survival to listen to his feelings about the reactions of others. It was the only way that he was sometimes able to diffuse an explosion from his mother, or more rarely sidestep her blows and right now his instincts were telling him to run._

_“Karma…” He whispered, tugging at the other boy’s hand in the hope of getting him to come away with him, but before either of them could speak, she had risen from her desk and begun to move towards them, a worried expression on her face as she studied him._

_“Is your face all right Nagisa?” Her voice was soothing and gentle, the same one she used when one of their class was ill or had fallen in the corridor, and he was beginning to wonder if living with his mother had warped his ability to read adults, until her next words. “Your mother called and said that she wasn’t sure that you should be in class today and that it was okay to call her if you don’t feel well.”_

_“Huh…?” He couldn’t stop the shocked noise from slipping free, and he felt Karma’s hand tightening around his and when he glanced at his best friend he realised the other boy had gone rigid, and when Karma spoke it was a low growl that someone his age shouldn’t have been capable of it._

_“His mother said that?”_

_“Mind your tone,” their teacher scolded, before glancing down at their joined hands and for the first time there was a hint of surprise in her voice. “She told me that you two were fighting…”_

_“N-no…” Nagisa shook his head, unable to believe that his mother would have dared to blame this on Karma and his eyes began to sting. Karma was the one person that had been trying to protect him, and now he was being blamed for this? What if he decided that Nagisa wasn’t worth it? That their friendship wasn’t worth it? It had been something he had feared from the start, well aware that he brought far less to their friendship than Karma did and he sniffled. He hadn’t realised that the redhead had turned at his soft protest, or noticed the storm brewing in golden eyes, the first time he was aware of what was going on was when Karma whirled back to their teacher with a snarl._

_“SHE WAS THE ONE THAT DID THIS!” For all the mischief Karma caused he very rarely raised his voice, he normally never needed to, and Nagisa wasn’t sure who was more shocked him or their teacher who was gaping at his friend. Karma took a shuddering breath, glancing back at Nagisa for a moment before continuing in a softer tone. “She hurt him. She’s been hurting him all this time, and you didn’t even see it did you?”_

_They had spent nearly twenty minutes trying to convince her, but while she had heard their words, it was clear from the start that she didn’t believe them and that she wasn’t going to change her mind. They were fighting against Nagisa’s mother’s words, and against Karma’s reputation. That had been bad enough, but what had really broken him was when she had turned on him at the end, telling him that she was disappointed not only that he would speak about his own mother like that, but that he would allow himself to go along with Karma’s lie to this extent. He remembered that he had stood there completely frozen, tears streaming down his cheeks as he realised what she had just said. That he wasn’t going to get out of the hell that was his home-life. That his mother had won even before he had tried to escape, and it was only Karma frantically calling his name that had broken through the haze that had settled over his thoughts, and he had taken one look at the pained golden eyes before turning and fleeing…_

   Karma knew exactly where Nagisa’s thoughts had gone, feeling the tremors wracking his friend’s body and he tucked the smaller boy against himself with a sigh. He had truly believed back then that he would be able to get his friend the help he had needed, and it had nearly destroyed him when not only had he failed, but it had been his reputation that had worked against them. He had chased after Nagisa that day, terrified that the smaller boy might do something foolish and desperately needing to apologise. He knew that he hadn’t strictly broken his promise, because Nagisa had given his consent to trying to tell a teacher, but it was his fault that Nagisa had got his hopes up and as much as his friend might try to deny it, it was clear that he had dared to believe that things could be better…

_It hadn’t taken him long to find Nagisa. Just as they had their special spot behind the shop, they had found a similar place in amongst the bushes in the far corner of the playground, and he had slipped in amongst the bushes uncaring of the bell ringing in the distance. Sure enough, there in the centre was his best friend, and his heart had broken as he realised that Nagisa was weeping silently in his huddled position and he had ached to go to him. To hug him and try and comfort him, but he hadn’t dared to, unable to forget their teacher’s words and the blame that had been heaped on his head. If only he had been better behaved she might have believed them…_

_“I’m so sorry,” he had whispered, expecting Nagisa to either completely ignore him or to ask him to leave, and he would have been unable to blame him if had done either. But as always the smaller boy had surprised him, slowly lifting his head and staring at him for a moment with tearful eyes before asking with honest surprise._

_“Why are you apologising?”_

    That had been the moment that he had realised just how big his best friend’s heart was, despite everything he had suffered and there had been something in the blue eyes that had stopped him from protesting. Instead, he had cautiously settled down beside Nagisa, pulling the smaller boy into a hug as Nagisa finally broke down completely, sobbing loudly against his chest and clinging to him as though terrified that Karma would disappear at any moment. They hadn’t made it to class at all that day, hiding in those bushes, huddled together as they both tried to make sense of what had happened. That had been the day that Karma had renewed his promise to keep it secret, and at the time he had meant it more than anything he had ever said before because he never wanted to put Nagisa through that pain again.

 _Yet here we are again,_ he thought, swallowing hard as he glanced down at Nagisa, realising that he had forgotten how that day had felt when he had told Nagisa they should talk to their teachers earlier that week, and his arms tightened around his friend. No wonder he reacted so badly, _how could I forget?_ No, he realised as he slowly lifted his head to look at their teachers, taking in their concerned expressions and the poorly concealed anger beneath that…it wasn’t that he had forgotten, it was that these teachers of theirs had actually broken through the barriers he had put up around himself after that day. Even now with Karasuma’s question ringing in his ears, and the memories that had swept over both him and Nagisa, he found himself clinging to the belief that these teachers were different. That, unlike that day, his words would get Nagisa the help that he needed and it was that thought that allowed him to regain his voice, holding his head high as he stared at them.

“We did…”

****

    Bitch-Sensei was doing her best to keep up her usual attitude and approach to teaching, and for the most part it seemed to be working, the class trading its usual insults with her and dragging out exciting anecdotes from her life as an assassin, seemingly uncaring of the fact that it wasn’t her period to be teaching. However, Kayano could see the strain in their teacher’s expression and the way blue eyes kept darting to the classroom door, and they shared a moment of mutual concern when their gazes met a moment later.

_Just what is going on in there?_

   Kayano couldn’t shake the memory of the bruise covering Nagisa’s face, or the way he had flinched in response to her presence and she had to blink back sudden tears. She had known something was wrong from the moment she had received Karma’s first text, but this…this was beyond anything she could have imagined, and it was made worse by the fact that she had no idea what was happening. She hadn’t been able to argue when Koro-Sensei had chivvied her back to class, but now she wished that she had, so that she could be there with her best friends. Because sitting here waiting for something to happen, and trying to ignore the act that Bitch-Sensei was putting on was worse than the fact that Nagisa had flinched away from her, and her hands curled into fists against the top of her desk as her gaze drifted towards the door once more.

_Nagisa…Karma…_

****

_They hadn’t been angry before…_

   That was Karma’s conclusion by the time he had finished relaying what had happened back then, his voice faltering at times, the pain of that failure far closer to the surface than it had been for years. Nagisa had been quiet throughout it all, but the redhead was reasonably sure that he was going to have bruises from where the small teen was clutching at him, and as he finally came to the end of that sorry chapter he turned his attention back to his friend. Staring down at the blue hair for a moment, before he glanced up at their teachers once more. Koro-Sensei was nearly wholly black once again, his tentacles shifting with agitation as his gaze flickered between his students and the window as though he was contemplating whether he could get away with taking care of things himself. And Karma had a feeling that the hand that Karasuma had clenched around one tentacle was the only thing stopping him from giving into temptation.

    There was nothing subtle or hidden about Karasuma’s rage anymore, and as Karma studied the older man for a moment, he realised that this was something that Nagisa needed to see. That the smaller teen needed to see so that he would understand that these teachers were different and that Karma wasn’t the only one who could see that what was being done to him was wrong. He knew that it had been that day, and Miss. Kusanagi’s words that had cemented Nagisa’s belief that it was never going to change. That he didn’t deserve for it to change, and that his mother would always win, and while Nagisa’s expectations must have wavered for him to agree to speak to their teachers he knew those doubts were still simmering just below the surface.

“Nagisa…” He said softly, waiting patiently for Nagisa to look at him and struggling to hide his dismay at the shadowed expression on the other’s face, realising that the smaller teen had been hiding against him as he tried to ready himself for disappointment. It was evident that whatever hope had got Nagisa to this point was wavering, and rather than wasting his breath on words that might never not even reach his friend and instead he gently turned Nagisa around so that he was facing their teachers.

_Nagisa, these teachers are different…_

**

   Nagisa hadn’t been expecting Karma to turn him to face their teachers, and for a moment he tried to look anywhere but at Koro-Sensei or Karasuma. It was different this time, they were both teachers he had come to trust. Teachers that he could almost believe might believe him, and the thought of looking at them properly and seeing the same disbelief and disappointment he had been faced with the last time terrified him. However, while he was many things, he wasn’t a coward, and he knew that one way or another he needed to confront this and taking a shaky breath he lifted his head. Only to freeze as he took in the angry expressions on his teachers’ faces, and the concern and sympathy underneath that fury and his breath caught in his throat as he stared wide-eyed at them.

   Unlike back then he had been overly confident in his ability to read people’s behaviour now, searching their expressions with an assassin’s eye and he felt his eyes beginning to well up as he realised that he couldn’t see the slightest hint of insincerity in their expressions. _Do they believe us?_ He had never thought that it would even be a question, sure that this was doomed to failure even before it began and he found himself unable to force the words past his lips, and he found himself looking down, not wanting them to see how close to tears he was again. _I don’t know what to do_ …He realised, hands curling into fists at his side and even when Karma shifted behind him and rested a supportive hand on his shoulder, he couldn’t bring himself to look up or say anything. _I don’t know what to do…._

“Nagisa-kun….” Koro-Sensei was the first to break the silence, his voice the gentlest any of them had ever heard it, but still, Nagisa couldn’t find the strength to lift his head. _I don’t know what to_. His panicked thoughts faltered when a tentacle snaked under his chin, gently lifting his face so that he was force to look at his teacher, and he swallowed when he saw that the black had faded somewhat and that Koro-Sensei was now studying him with a pained expression. “What do you want us to do about this? What is it that you want?”

  _What is that you want? What do you want us to about this_? They were giving him a choice? They were asking what he wanted? His eyes flooded with tears as he realised that this creature… this teacher that everyone had labelled a monster was offering him a choice, asking him what he wanted. That these teachers, because Karasuma-sensei for once looked like he was in complete agreement with his colleague, actually might believe him. Karma’s hand had tightened on his shoulder, and he glanced up at the taller boy, seeing the encouragement and silent promise of support in the golden gaze that met his for a moment, and it was the reminder that he had never been alone. That he would never be alone, that gave him the strength to face their teachers once more and to force his voice to work.

“Y-You believe me? B-believe us?”

“Yes,” Koro-Sensei replied simply, reaching up to brush away the tears that had already begun to fall even as Karasuma softly echoed his response, but that was not enough to stem the tide. Nagisa’s barriers shattering entirely under the force of that one simple word, and he was unaware of Karma moving to wrap an arm around him in case his legs caved completely as he moved, a howl of anguish escaping as he flung himself forwards. He couldn’t see through his tears, couldn’t speak past the lump that had formed in his throat, his breath hitching under the force of his sobs, but he felt it the moment he was pulled into a tight hug against his teacher. And for the first time in years he let, someone other than Karma see the real depth of his pain, burying his face against Koro-Sensei, hiccupping as he felt the tentacles forming a protective barrier around him he was pulled closer and he let everything go.

_They believe us…._


	10. Chapter 10

 

   There was an odd feeling in the pit of Karma’s stomach as he watched Nagisa clinging to their teacher, Koro-sensei returning the hug and trying his best to settle the crying teen, the last traces of black vanishing as Nagisa’s sobs became broken wails. It took him a moment to realise that it was jealousy that he was feeling, and he glanced away, ashamed to be feeling like that when they had finally managed to find teachers that were willing to believe them about Nagisa’s home life. No, that wasn’t only willing to believe them, but willing to help too, and yet he couldn’t completely bury the feeling. For too long he had been the only one that Nagisa could turn to, and he felt like he had lost something as he watched the smaller teen rushing to Koro-Sensei and he hunched in on himself, as he reminded himself sternly that this was a good thing.

     _Nagisa needs this… Nagisa needs this, and that is all that matters_. It became a mantra, and while it didn’t let him block out the feeling entirely, it helped because he knew better than anyone that it was true, and that there was only so much that he could do for Nagisa. And finally, he felt some of the tension easing away, although he couldn’t bring himself to look back up at the pair just yet. It wasn’t just jealousy he realised as he risked another glance out of the corner of his eye, realising that there was something about this moment that he couldn’t understand and that he shouldn’t understand, because it was between the two of them.

   Unsurprisingly, it took Nagisa took a long time to cry himself out, as all the pain and fear that had built up over the years, hidden away behind his innocent smile and bloodlust, was finally showing itself in its entirety. Stealing Karma’s breath, as he realised that the pain ran far deeper than even he had realised, and with that realisation, the last flickers of envy died and took a deep, shuddering breath. _You’re never going back there Nagisa. You’re never going to have to hide those feelings ever again,_ he knew it wasn’t going to be quite that simple, just as he knew that there was no way things were just going to go back to how things had been.

     Gradually the broken wails began to subside to small, hiccupping sobs that were almost as painful to listen to, Nagisa’s tight hold on Koro-Sensei wavering and loosening until he was slumped against his teacher more than hugging him and Karma finally looked up when he heard his best friend’s voice.

“I…” Nagisa had never sounded so fragile, not even in the aftermath of their failed attempt to reach out to their previous teachers and Karma found himself taking an automatic step forward, wanting, no, needing to comfort the younger teen. Koro-Sensei saw his approach and shifted slightly, not loosening his grip on Nagisa, but making room for Karma to come alongside them and rest a supportive hand on Nagisa’s shoulder. The smaller teen jolted at the touch, not quite a flinch as some part of him recognised that he was safe here, sniffling as he peeked up at Karma with red-rimmed eyes, and tears still damp on his cheeks, and for a long moment, they just stared at one another. Karma could see the unspoken plea in the blue eyes, the need for his support and strength and he swallowed. _Nagisa still needed him,_ and his grip tightened, not enough to hurt, but enough to reassure his best friend that he was there and that he wasn’t going anywhere.

    Nagisa shuddered, holding his gaze for a moment longer, before turning back so that he could hide his face more as he managed to continue in a shaky voice.  “I don’t want to go ho…back.” He visibly tensed at his own correction and Karma couldn’t quite hide his shock, because while he had never once been able to refer to Nagisa’s house as a ‘home’ after learning what his best friend was enduring. Nagisa had always insisted on calling it ‘home’ even when it had become clear that it no longer felt like home to him. It was one of the few things that they had argued about, although never to the extent of falling out over it. However, that had clearly changed, and Karma felt a twinge of loss for Nagisa’s sake, but he remained silent, sensing that Nagisa wouldn’t be able to keep going if he interrupted him at this point. “But…”

“But?” Koro-Sensei prompted gently when it became clear that Nagisa had faltered, and Karma grimaced as he felt Nagisa trembling beneath him, already having a good idea of what his kind-hearted friend was trying to say. He wished that he didn’t, or that he could step in and stop Nagisa from saying it, but he knew that he couldn’t.

“She…my mum…she needs help,” Nagisa whispered, carefully not looking at Karma, who knew that the sudden tension in his friend’s shoulders was because he was waiting for an outraged response or angry words. There were plenty bubbling up inside him because even if Nagisa was right and she did need help, Karma didn’t want to give it to her, not after what she had done to his friend, but he forced the words back, trying to keep his grip as relaxed as possible. “I want…” Nagisa continued when it was clear that Karma wasn’t going to interject, before trailing off as he shook his head in defeat, exhausted and too done with everything right now to find the words to explain everything that was whirling through his head at the moment.

      And to be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted, not least because he had never let himself consider it, never believing that this moment would come. However, just before he admitted defeat, a thought popped into his mind, something that had to be voiced no matter how tired he felt right now. “I want to stay here, in E- Class…” It had become yet another reason why he had been worried about speaking up about his situation at home because he didn’t want to be sent away. He wanted to stay here, in the classroom where he was finally allowed to be himself, where his strengths were recognised and welcomed, and where he had friends. Although how those friends were going to react when they learned about all this and realised how weak he really was… His breathing hitched at that thought, new fear blossoming in his stomach, and it was only Karma gently squeezing his shoulder that stopped him falling apart again, and gave him another thing to plead for. The one thing that he couldn’t afford to lose. “I want to stay with Karma…”

    He fell quiet after that, letting more and more of his weight come to rest against Koro-Sensei as he squeezed his eyes shut, and tried desperately to get everything to stop, if only for a moment. There were still tears trickling down now flushed cheeks, although the hiccupping sobs had finally given way to the odd sniffle. He was distantly aware of the silence that had fallen around him, and the fact that Karma was still beside him, and he knew that he should probably be concerned that no one had responded to his pleas yet, but it was all just too much right now. He hurt, inside and out, and his chest was tight as he tried to just breathe, and he felt like he could sleep for a month or more. Although he knew that if he did, he would just be haunted by more nightmares and he whimpered softly at the thought. He just wanted it all to go away, just for a little while.

    The sensation of being lifted had him flinching, panicking for a moment before he realised that it was Koro-Sensei who was moving him, heading back towards the sofa with him in his arms, and he blinked up at his teacher when he found himself being settled gently against the cushions. “…Sensei?”

“Rest for now,” Koro-Sensei ordered, although in such a soft tone that it sounded more like a plea than an order, brushing some of the wayward blue hair out of the way and smiling reassuringly at, before adding quietly, “We will take care of things from here.” He sounded so certain, so confident and sincere that it brought fresh tears to Nagisa’s eyes, and he didn’t have the energy to doubt them anymore. Instead, giving a tiny nod as he sank back against the sofa, eyes already drifting shut, as for the first time he willingly placed his trust in the adults.

“’Kay…”

      Karma had already been moving, trailing after Koro-sensei with the intention of sitting with his best friend while he napped, as there was no way Nagisa was going to avoid nightmares after everything that had happened this morning. And although he trusted the teachers, he didn’t trust them to be able to see Nagisa through them, or maybe he couldn’t, needing to be able to do something to protect Nagisa from all this. However, he had barely moved a couple of steps before Karasuma reached out to stop him with a hand on his shoulder, and amber eyes narrowed in irritation even as he glanced questioningly at the man, not happy with being kept from Nagisa’s side.

“Can I speak to you for a moment?” Karasuma asked, and he sounded so serious that Karma didn’t want to refuse, not when things were still at such a delicate stage. However, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing anxiously at Nagisa, and the older man followed his gaze with a knowing expression, and there was a glint of sympathy in his eyes as he added quietly. “Koro-Sensei will stay with him, and it won’t take long.” Koro-Sensei nodded his agreement, promptly settling down into the chair next to the sofa and shooting an expectant look at Karma who sighed in defeat. Realising that if he was going to trust them to help Nagisa, then he had to trust them to help with this as well.

“Okay,” he muttered, before across at Nagisa once more. “Nagisa, I’ll be right back.” There was no reply, but he hadn’t really been expecting one, and he had a feeling that Nagisa had heard him all the same. Still, he wasn’t happy about leaving, and he sighed, worrying at his bottom lip before allowing Karasuma to guide him out into the corridor.

   He was relieved when Karasuma stopped him barely a few steps outside the door because he didn’t want to venture too far right now. Especially, as the last time, he had let Nagisa out of his sight everything had gone to hell, and he wasn’t about to allow a repeat of that experience, even if rationally he knew that they should be safe here. It wasn’t as reassuring a thought as he wanted it to be, and he found himself shifting uneasily from foot to foot, unable to summon even a modicum of his usual calm as his gaze darted between Karasuma and the room they had just left.

“Karma, are you all right?” The question startled him, and he blinked owlishly for a minute as he took in the concerned eyes that were studying his reaction, and the frown that deepened when he didn’t immediately reply. And it took him another moment to realise that he hadn’t misheard and that the older man was worried about him, and he shook his head in confusion.

“I’m fine,” he replied finally, feeling something constricting in his chest,  suddenly feeling as though he was lying although he didn’t know why, and his hands curled into fists at his side. However, he pushed through the feeling and glanced back towards the door that was currently hiding Nagisa from his sight, before adding quietly. “I’m not the one that was hurt.”

“That’s not strictly true,” Karasuma contradicted him, and Karma tensed before shaking his head and cutting him off with a scowl.

“I’m fine.” _Please, just worry about Nagisa…_

     Karasuma didn’t seem convinced by his response, studying him intently for a moment, and leaving Karma wondering just what he was looking for. And it was a relief when the dark eyes softened slightly and looked away, freeing him from the piercing gaze. “I’ll leave it at that for now.” Karma got the impression that the older man was unsurprised by his answer, but somehow disappointed and he shifted uneasily. But if you find that you’re not fine…”

“I know…”

“The other question I wanted to ask you, was about Nagisa’s father…” Karasuma began cautiously, and while Karma was more relieved that he should be that the man had moved onto a new subject, he had to admit that he hadn’t been expecting that topic. Scowling as he realised that he should have, and sighing as he glanced back at the door once more, glad that Karasuma had asked him and not Nagisa, although he realised that his friend would need to broach the topic at some point.

“His father?” He asked, earning a small nod of encouragement and he grimaced, realising that he couldn’t avoid the topic. “He’s around sometimes, but he couldn’t cope with Nagisa’s mo…with her…” He couldn’t call her ‘Nagisa’s mother’ anymore, the words tasting like ashes before he was even halfway, and he fidgeted for a moment. He couldn’t really blame the man for not being able to cope with what the woman had become. However, he could and did blame him for fleeing and leaving Nagisa behind to deal with it all by himself. “I…” He hesitated for a moment, knowing that Nagisa needed options, but he couldn’t lie, and he met Karasuma’s gaze head-on. “I don’t trust him to give Nagisa what he needs right now, or that he would be able to hold out against that woman.” He didn’t think that Nagisa did either, as not once had his best friend suggested that he should go and live with his father to get away from his home life. He had trusted Karma far more than he had trusted his own father, and for Karma that was reason enough for him to shoot down that idea.

“Hmm, I see,” Karasuma murmured, looking more solemn that he had a moment before and Karma stared at him, suddenly uneasy. Had that been their only option?

“Is that a problem?”

“We have to be cautious because of the situation with this class, and it would have simplified matters if we could reach out to the rest of his family.”

“You…” Karma began, his voice a low growl and his eyes flashing as he took a menacing step forward, not caring who it was that he was talking to. If they broke their word now, it would destroy Nagisa, and there was no way he was going to let that happen.

“Nagisa will not be going back to her,” Karasuma was quick to reassure him, working out where his thoughts had gone, and Karma subsided at the resolve in the older man’s voice. It reminded him of how their teacher had sounded whenever he had been forced to protect them, and Karma had seen enough of what he was capable of when in that mood to trust that tone. “That is something that I will not allow, but at the same time, we can’t expose what is happening here. More than it already has I mean, although given Mrs Shiota’s current behaviour I doubt many would give her words credence…” Karma didn’t particularly care about the risk of exposure although he could see why it was a problem, he scowled at the reminder of what had happened to Nagisa’s notebook. That was something he was going to need to try and fix, because as silly as it might be in the grand scheme of things, that little pad had meant everything to his best friend. However, that was something to worry about later, once he knew that Nagisa himself was safe, and he turned fierce eyes towards the older man.

 “Let him stay with me,” he demanded. It was something he had thought about earlier, but he had needed to know that they were going to help before he could voice it. Hell, it was something he had been thinking about for years, wanting to ask Nagisa to stay with him from the moment he had found out what was happening because then he would know that Nagisa was safe. However, back then it hadn’t been possible, both because of their age and because of Nagisa’s mother, but if that threat could be removed and contained…

 “Karma…”

“He feels safe with me, you saw that,” Karma pointed out, knowing that there was no way the older man could argue with him on that and wasn’t that the most important thing right now? That Nagisa felt safe? Plus Nagisa himself had said that he wanted to stay with Karma, although the red-head doubted that his friend had even considered the possibility of that extending to his home life as well, knowing that Nagisa had never let himself dream about things like that. Which was why he had to try and fight for him. “And my parents like Nagisa, and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.” Actually, that was an understatement, because his parents adored Nagisa, and to be honest he was a little worried about how they were going to react when they learned what had been done to his friend. Let alone what they would do when they discovered how long it had been going on for, and that he had known about it. It wasn’t going to be a fun conversation.

 “Are they at home?”

“No,” Karma admitted reluctantly, now cursing their absence after being relieved about it the night before, but he wasn’t daunted by that problem. He knew that all he would need to say was that something had happened and they would come back, and he closed his eyes for a moment. Hating the fact that he could have such confidence in his own parents, while Nagisa couldn’t even trust his own not to hurt him, and it took him a moment to calm himself enough to continue. “But I can get them to come back.  Although the house….” He grimaced, knowing that the house had at least a shattered front window that he was going to have to explain to them, and somehow he doubted Mrs Shiota would have left it at that. Not with the mood, she had been in when she had broken in, and he groaned, realising that everything was more of a mess than he’d thought.

“I’m sure we can take care of that,” Karasuma said soothingly, and Karma was surprised at his confidence before he caught the older man glancing at the staff room with a small smirk and golden eyes widened as understanding hit. Of course, they had Koro-Sensei… and a rare smile graced the older man’s face for a moment as he saw that Karma understood what he was implying before he sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. “Fine, if you can contact your parents then we’ll see what they have to say on the matter. Until then I will see what can be done about Nagisa’s mother.”

   Karma nodded, grinning on the inside because he knew that his parents would agree. They had to because the though losing Nagisa, or trusting him to a stranger’s care was not something he was willing to permit, not after they had finally got this far. Karasuma was already moving away down the corridor, brow furrowed in thought and Karma hesitated for a moment before calling after him, hand already resting on the door handle as he was keen to get back to Nagisa’s side.

“Thank you!” _Thank you for believing us, and thank you for helping him…_

“You’re welcome,” Karasuma had paused at the quiet call, turning back to look at him, an almost smile tugging at his lips before he added grimly. “I just wish that you hadn’t had to wait so long for someone to help him.”

 _You and me_ both, Karma thought as he watched the older man continue on his way before shaking his head and hurrying back inside the staff room. Slipping through the door he found the scene just as it had been when he had left, and he let out a soft sigh of relief before padding across to the sofa. He settled on the ground beside it, making sure that he was within arm’s reach in case he was needed, ignoring the knowing look that Koro-Sensei was giving him.

“You should both get some rest,” Koro-Sensei said finally as he got up, reaching out to rest a tentacle on each of their heads for a moment, almost as though to reassure himself that they were both all right and then he was gone. Leaving Karma staring after him wide-eyed for a moment, before the teacher’s words registered and his eyes narrowed as he turned back to Nagisa, catching the way he was trembling slightly, betraying the fact that he was still awake and he sighed, of course, he hadn’t fallen asleep that easily.

“Nagisa…” He waited patiently for blue eyes to open, wincing at how red they looked before forcing a reassuring smile as he realised that Nagisa looked as though he might begin crying again at a moment’s notice. “Sit up for a moment,” he ordered, and Nagisa blinked before wearily obeying, pushing himself up with trembling hands and the red-head quickly rose and slipped onto the couch as well. With gentle hands, mindful of the bruises on the smaller teen’s arms he manoeuvred them both until he was laid pressed against the back of the sofa, with Nagisa safely caged in his arms, face buried against his chest once more. “Better?”

“Yeah…” Nagisa whispered, nodding against him before pulling back and peering up at him with a soft sniffle. “Karma?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you…” Karma blinked at the quiet words, unable to move as Nagisa snuggled against him once more, hiding from the world with reddened cheeks and the red-head automatically tightened his hold on his friend. He hadn’t expected a thank you. He didn’t need or want a thank you, but there had been something in the other boy’s eyes that told him it had been important to Nagisa, and he sighed as he finally managed to marshal a response.

“You’re welcome.” His words fell on deaf ears. Apparently, Nagisa had only been holding off sleep long enough to wait for him to come back, as his breathing had already eased out and he was no longer clutching Karma tight enough to leave bruises. The fact that he could relax so quickly around him eased something in Karma’s chest, and he smiled burying his face in the soft blue hair for a moment, feeling himself beginning to unwind a little.

   He stayed like that a little longer, needing the closeness and the moment to breathe, before cautiously digging in his pocket for his phone. He wanted to make sure that Nagisa felt this safe all the time. Careful not to jostle the sleeping teen he sent a text to his mother, asking her to call him as soon as possible as he knew that she would have her phone off at the moment, but lunch was not that far away, and she always checked for messages in her break.

   Satisfied that he had done what he could for the moment, he slipped his phone back into his pocket so that he would feel it if she rang, before rearranging his grip on Nagisa and settling down. With the pressure of getting their story across and the fear of not being believed gone, exhaustion was pressing in on him, and for once he decided to take his teacher’s advice. His eyes closing even as his head came to rest against Nagisa’s and it wasn’t long before he was sleeping too, unaware of the eyes watching them for a moment longer, before Koro-Sensei quietly closed the door on them, his face turning black once more as he turned away from the staff room.


End file.
